27 May 2013

PFI/PPP & project bonds

Starting Area/Sector information

Clifford Chance’s market leading PPP team offers these unique benefits to clients.

Experience: We have been deeply involved in PPP projects and policy making since the inception of the modern PPP concept. We also have extensive experience in many of the related structures which preceded or co-exist with PPP, such as concessions, DBFM and BOT projects.

Expertise: Our PPP lawyers are leading specialists in the legal disciplines required in any PPP legal team – finance, public law, planning and environmental, construction, corporate, tax, public procurement etc. We are fully familiar with the norms and templates of the PPP market but able to improvise outside them when required, and to apply know-how from related fields.

Perspective: We act for clients from every major constituency within the PPP market, including governments, sponsors, funders of every kind and supply chain participants. We also maintain regular contact with policy makers and industry bodies, seeking to shape frameworks within which individual projects can be executed efficiently.

Footprint: Our PPP team operates internationally, enabling us to deliver effective combinations of international experience and local law and practice.

Resources: Our PPP team is a flexible team drawn from relevant practice areas and offices. This enables us to adjust our team profile and size very quickly in response to client needs, typically by giving senior strategic input at the outset and a deploying a larger team to lead the push for closing.

Reputation: Not all PPP issues can be resolved by reference to standard guidance or legal logic. Our credibility among, and ability to work smoothly with, counterparties and peers can make a crucial difference.

Staying power: PPPs are long term businesses rather than projects. Our extensive experience of refinancing, variations, market testing and other operational activities, as well as secondary investments in projects by investors, investment funds and or pension funds, enables us to stand alongside our clients throughout the PPP lifecycle.

Track record

We have participated in most of the large, complex and/or groundbreaking PPP projects implemented around the world. A selection of our experience follows:

Accommodation

  • Connaught and Allenby, UK
  • Project Academy, Italy

Defence

  • Defence Training Review (DTR), UK
  • Future Strategic Tanker Aircraft (FSTA), UK/International

Education

  • Cornwall Schools, UK
  • Montaigne project, The Netherlands

Health

  • Barts & The London Hospitals PPP, UK
  • Burgos Hospital, Spain

Transport

  • A41 PPP Toll Road, France
  • LUL PPP, UK

Waste and Water

  • Greater Manchester Waste PFI Project, UK
  • Privatisation of water distribution & wastewater collection sector, Saudi Arabia

Project Bonds

Clifford Chance’s specialist project bond lawyers are playing a key role in the structuring of project financings.

The international bond markets have become a significant source of long-term capital for infrastructure projects Our highly skilled project bond team combines debt capital markets expertise with in-depth structured and project finance experience.

Our market-leading presence in the UK project bond sector has put us in a strong position to support the growth of this market in Europe.

Related areas of expertise: