Focus – January 2015

Welcome to the January 2015 edition of Focus

Awards

We are pleased to announce that we have recently won the following awards:

• PFI African Power Deal of the Year 2014 for the Cenpower Power Project in Ghana where we advised the project company, whose shareholders include AFC Equity Investments Limited (a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Africa Finance Corporation), Cenpower Holdings Limited (a consortium of Ghanaian investors), Sumitomo Corporation, Mercury Power and FMO. InfraCo, the principal project co-developer since inception, exited the shareholding shortly prior to financial close.
• PFI African Renewables Deal of the Year 2014 and IJGlobal Europe & Africa Renewables Deal of the Year 2014 for the Lake Turkana Wind Project in Kenya where we advised African Development Bank as Mandated Lead Arranger, The Standard Bank of South Africa Limited and Nedbank Limited as co-lead arrangers and the European Investment Bank, FMO, Proparco, DEG, PTA Bank, East African Development Bank as lenders, Eksport Kredit Fonden (the Danish export credit agency) and OPIC as incoming lender on the 623m project.

Articles

Kaushik Ray has written a case study on the Lake Turkana project in the Project Finance International Energy Yearbook that was published in late December 2014. It can be found here.

In our main article this edition, we take a detailed look at the International Energy Agencys Africa Energy Outlook Special Report, published in October 2014.

In our Case Study, Senior Associate Harvinder Deol considers the recent case Willmott Dixon Partnership Ltd v London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham [2014] EWHC 3191 (TCC) in which the Technology and Construction Court considered clauses for termination for convenience clauses.

In addition, associate Rob Currall takes a look at the West African Ebola crisis and its effect on force majeure provisions in project contracts.

New Joiners

Late in 2014, we welcomed Harvinder Deol and Jo Sykes to the Trinity team.

Harvinder joined us from CMS Cameron McKenna. His background is in PFI/PPP projects in a variety of sectors acting for all relevant stakeholders including governments/procuring authorities, sponsors, employers, sub-contractors and finance parties. His particular area of expertise is in relation to energy related infrastructure projects, with a particular focus on the energy from waste sector. He has an LLB (hons) from Brunel University, and LLM Commercial & Corporate Law and an LPC from College of Law, London.

Jo (née Knights) trained and qualified as a solicitor at Clifford Chance LLP, gaining experience in the financing and operational aspects of Projects in the energy and infrastructure sector prior to joining Trinity in October 2014. She graduated from the University of Oxford with a BA in Jurisprudence in 2008 and qualified as a solicitor of England & Wales in 2012.

We welcome the new joiners to the Trinity team and are pleased to be growing the practice.

Closings

In the past few months, as well as the Cenpower and Turkana transactions, we have closed or signed documentation for the financing of mining equipment into Zambia and Sierra Leone as well as on a corporate refinancing for a Zambian energy company.

New instructions

We have been instructed on several new matters in the past few months including:

• Advising a leading developer on a wind project in Ghana;

• Advising a fund in relation to the acquisition of an agricultural business;

• Advising a sponsor of a solar project in Ethiopia;

• Advising a leading development bank on the drafting of template loan documentation for loans to small and medium enterprises;

• Advising a leading European development finance institution on a micro finance institution in Namibia;

• Advising a leading European development finance institution on an agricultural project in the Democratic Republic of Congo;

• Advising a leading African power developer on a series of IPPs in Ghana;

• Advising a private equity fund on the purchase of a hotel and leisure asset in Kenya;

• Advising a leading development finance institution on the financing of a Bangladeshi agricultural company;

• Advising a power developer on a wind project in Ghana;

• Advising a development finance institution on the possible equity investment into a power plant in Nepal; and

• Advising the lenders in respect of the financing of a power plant in Zimababwe.

Speaking Engagements: 

• Simon Norris will be speaking at an ESKOM workshop on transmission lines in Johannesburg in March 2015.

• Kaushik Ray spoke at the World Bank’s Law Justice and Development Week in October 2014 on financing sustainable development in Africa whilst addressing the post-2015 development agenda.

• Simon Norris and Kaushik Ray spoke to the International Lawyers for Africa (ILFA) candidates on Power Purchase Agreements in autumn 2014.

• Hugh Naylor spoke to the ILFA candidates about shareholders agreements and equity structuring relating to project finance in autumn 2014.

Getting in touch

As ever, if you have any comments or questions about Trinity, about Focus, or generally, please get in touch.