Herbert Smith Freehills has advised Transmission Capital Partners on the purchase of the transmission link for the Beatrice offshore wind farm, in a deal worth £438 million.
The purchase follows a competitive tender for the grant of offshore transmission licences by Ofgem. Its successful conclusion ensures that Transmission Capital Partners – a consortium which includes Amber Infrastructure, International Public Partnerships and Transmission Investment – will own and operate the transmission assets delivering electricity from the 588 megawatt wind farm, to the national grid.
The Beatrice wind farm, located off the Caithness coastline, is Scotland’s largest operational offshore wind farm. It is anticipated that the transmission link assets will deliver green electricity to the grid, equivalent to approximately 450,000 homes across the UK.
As a multisource financing, the transaction involved advice addressing and balancing the requirements of institutional lenders, bank lenders and orphan swap providers. The Herbert Smith Freehills London Finance Practice also provided support throughout the transaction as the financing market transitioned from LIBOR to SONIA.
The firm’s London Finance team was led by partner David Wyles, supported by senior associates Dhananjaya Chak and Josh Attard, associate Alex Shindler-Kelly and trainees Thomas Eldred and Rhys Williams. Corporate advice focusing on the acquisition was led by partner Silke Goldberg with support from senior associate Karen Rowe, associate Elizabeth Gadsby, paralegal Barbara McNulty and trainees Zoe Asher and Hollie Freeman. The firm’s real estate practice also assisted with advice from partner Julian Pollock, senior associates Ruth Benfield and Lisa Bazalo and associate Alice Nelson.
David Wyles commented: “This transaction has been a brilliant example of successful cross-practice work and I am proud of the way our teams delivered a seamless experience despite the challenges posed by Covid-19 and the array of both technical and commercial challenges that ensued since our client was awarded preferred bidder status. Helping to bring this to a successful conclusion has required a sustained effort from all parts of the deal team, and we are thoroughly delighted to have helped our client reach this final milestone.”
