Our international project finance group is one of the largest in the world with more than 120 lawyers. Clients can expect not just technical excellence but also commercial know-how.

The project finance team covers two core sectors:

  • energy including:
    • renewable energy;
    • water;
    • oil and gas;
    • electricity; and
    • mining;
  • infrastructure including:
    • defence;
    • transport: airport, roads, tunnels, rail, ports;
    • healthcare;
    • education;
    • government accommodation and custodial; and
    • telecoms.

In the primary market, the team acts for all participants in transactions in these sectors – procuring authorities, regulators, bidding consortia, sub contractors, equity investors and finance parties (commercial banks, monoline guarantors, multilateral institutions, export credit agencies and trustees) – and therefore has an excellent all round perspective of the likely objectives of, and positions that will be adopted by, such participants in such projects.

In addition to advising on primary market deals, the team is very active in advising clients on secondary market transactions including advising industry investors buying and selling assets, as well as financial investors (such as the many infrastructure funds that have now been established) on initial fund establishment, on portfolio sales and acquisitions, on financings and re-financings, and in connection with IPOs and fund management matters.

The team’s global reach and sector coverage are highlighted by the representative recent transactions listed below:

  • Belgium: Brussels-North wastewater treatment plant – advising the mandated lead arrangers (MLAs) and EIB;
  • Canada: Port Mann/Highway 1 project – advising the Province of British Columbia;
  • Chile: BNP Paribas, Citibank and Calyon, New York Branch, as lead arrangers on the financing of a delayed coker complex at Chilean state oil Company Empresa Nacional del Petróleo (ENAP)'s Anconcagua refinery in Concón, Chile;
  • Cyprus: Larnaka and Pafos airports – advising the MLAs (WestLB, RBS, SG and ING) in relation to the first PPP deal procured by the Cypriot government;
  • Germany: cancer therapy centre at the university hospital of Essen – advising a joint venture of Strabag and medical technology specialist Ion Beam Applications on the first health sector PPP in Germany;
  • Jordan: Amman East power project – advising the Japan Bank for International Cooperation;
  • Netherlands: bio ethanol plant – advising Rabobank;
  • Russia: the Moscow – St Petersburg Motorway project, the Orlovsky Tunnel project and the pathfinder PPP project, the Western High Speed Diameter project in St Petersburg (Russia) – advising the Russian public sector;
  • Saudi Arabia: advising the Saline Water Conversion Corporation on its privatisation and a bidding consortium on the Saudi Landbridge project;
  • South Africa: Gautrain rail link project – advising the MLAs on the second-largest PPP rail deal in the world after the London Underground PPP;
  • UK: Project Allenby/Connaught - advising the MoD on the largest accommodation PFI project the MoD has undertaken. The project, worth approximately £8bn over its 35-year life, will provide living and working accommodation for 18,000 military and civilian staff (UK);
  • UK: Red Funnel acquisition – advising HSBC as MLA of the loan facilities for the acquisition of the ferry business by Infracapital Partners LP, an infrastructure fund of The Prudential Group;
  • US: Oakland Airport Connector rail project – advising the Bay Area Rapid Transit authority; and
  • US: Chicago Car Parking – advising the winning consortium of Morgan Stanley infrastructure fund and LAZ Parking.

For more information please contact Rafal Lojszczyk, business development manager, at rafal.lojszczyk@freshfields.com.

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Debt and equity-linked team of the year - IFLR European Awards (2008)

Pro-bono award - IFLR European Awards (2008)

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