Clifford Chance

Clifford Chance advises Global Infrastructure Partners on its purchase of a 50% stake in Hornsea 1

In a deal worth approximately £4.46 billion, international law firm Clifford Chance has advised Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP) on their acquisition from Ørsted of a 50% interest in the 1,218MW Hornsea 1 offshore wind farm, which is currently under construction off the coast of Yorkshire.

Construction of the wind farm is scheduled to be completed in 2020 and it will use 174 Siemens Gamesa 7MW Turbines. The US-based investor is financing the deal using a multi-tranche finance package, which is the largest single project financing ever in the global renewable energy sector. The debt includes both institutional and commercial bank funding, together with a mezzanine tranche provided by Danish pension fund PFA. A portion of the debt is covered by the Danish Export Credit Agency, EKF.

The Clifford Chance team advising on the transaction was led by London-based partners Clare Burgess and James Pay, and included tax partner Nick Mace and construction partner David Metzger, Senior Associates Daniel Deacon, Leonhard Rudolph, Angela Shepherd, James Shepherd, Christopher Starkey, Matteo Sbraga, Gordon Stewart, Anneke Theelen and Felicity Ward, and lawyers Dolly Haastrup-Quornooh, Sarah Cheng and Will Adams.