Berwin Leighton Paisner advises Golden Square Energy on sale of FiT Wind Portfolio to Pension Infrastructure Platform

LONDON, 16-Dec-2016 — /EuropaWire/ — International law firm Berwin Leighton Paisner (BLP) has advised Golden Square Energy (GSE) on the c. £93m sale of its FiT Wind Portfolio to the Pension Infrastructure Platform (PiP). The portfolio of 31 assets, with a total capacity of between 15-18MW, is one of the largest collections of feed in tariff (or FiT) backed wind assets in the UK.

The transaction provided an exit for GSE – a joint venture between Ingenious Clean Energy and AGR Renewables – after two years developing and consolidating the portfolio, also advised by BLP. At the same time, it marked the first direct equity investment for PiP’s new £1 billion Multi-Strategy Infrastructure Fund.

The portfolio was sold leveraged with senior debt provided by Bayern LB remaining in place. BLP previously advised on the multi-phase senior debt structure and documentation when this was put in place in 2015 and through the incremental acquisition strategy.

BLP’s advice covered the initial transaction structuring, all M&A aspects and GSE’s interests in relation to the ongoing financing.

Commenting on the deal, Baiju Devani, Investment Director,GSE, said “This was a major transaction for us and we needed it to be done well. BLP did not disappoint: their advice was clear and commercial, and their documents of an excellent standard. All in all, a job very well done.”

Kiran Arora, Projects, Energy & Infrastructure Partner, BLP said: “This was an interesting and complex cross-border transaction, involving 31 assets spread across the UK, existing debt and a range of underlying project documents. We enjoy managing transactions like this and ensuring that buyers, funders and sellers all know what is required of them throughout the transaction. We are particularly pleased to have helped GSE achieve a clean and efficient exit from the portfolio and to deliver returns to its shareholders, Ingenious and AGR.”

The cross-practice BLP team was led by Partner, Kiran Arora with support from Senior Associate, Tim Sumner. Further support came from James Hamon (Associate, Tax) and Trainee Solicitors Joseph Ninan and Thomas Wheatley.

PiP was led by Ed Wilson and represented by Eversheds (legal) and B Capital Partners (finance). Watson Farley & Williams (legal) acted for Bayern LB.

SOURCE: Berwin Leighton Paisner LLP

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