Author: Elgar Middleton

Elgar Middleton acted as financial adviser on the 330MW Darlington Point solar PV project in Australia

The transaction involved raising construction and term loan facilities for a 330MW solar PV plant, near Darlington Point, NSW. Octopus Investments and Edify Energy are the project’s sponsors.

Elgar Middleton led the financing process and assisted the sponsors in achieving financial close on 21 December 2018, with Commonwealth Bank of Australia and Westpac Banking Corporation underwriting non-recourse debt facilities for the deal.

Construction of the solar project has already commenced and full power generation is expected before 1Q2020. The project – being the largest solar PV farm in Australia – is expected to generate 685,000 MWh of affordable green electricity each year and is optimised to accommodate battery storage facilities on site.

John Cole, Chief Executive at Edify Energy, commented:

“We are excited to add the largest solar farm in Australia to our portfolio of developed, financed and operational projects. Delivering a portfolio of energy and battery storage projects that will power over 280,000 Australian homes is something we are extremely proud of. Yuriy Davidov and the team at Elgar Middleton have supported Edify Energy in the debt financing of the project and their drive and commitment was instrumental in the project achieving financial close in the tight time frames that were required.”

This transaction is a further testament to Elgar Middleton’s status as one of the leading independent financial advisers in the Australian renewable energy sector.

Contact

Yuriy Davidov
[email protected]
+612 8311 0880

Elgar Middleton has advised TRIG, the Renewables Infrastructure Group Ltd (LSE:TRIG), on its £195m refinancing of a portfolio of seven onshore wind farms in the UK.

The transaction has been structured as a non-recourse portfolio financing, providing greater flexibility and simplified administrative and reporting requirements. TRIG also benefited from an improvement in the commercial terms over the existing financing and an increase to the debt tenor. KfW IPEX-Bank, one of three existing lenders alongside BNP Paribas and Lloyds, was the sole lender of GBP 195m in senior debt facilities.

Contact

Simon Middleton
[email protected]
+44 207 099 6367

Elgar Middleton has advised Neoen on the project financing of the AUD$350m Bulgana Green Power Hub – an integrated wind farm and battery storage facility – located in Victoria, Australia

The transaction involved raising long-term debt from KfW IPEX-Bank, Societe Generale, and Korean government-owned financial institution Korea Development. Elgar Middleton worked with both Neoen and the lenders to ensure a timely financial close – within just 6 weeks from the moment the lenders were appointed.

The project benefits from a long-term PPA with the Victorian government and a corporate PPA with Nectar Farms. Once built, the project will provide 100% renewable energy to what will be the largest glasshouse in Australia – a world-first for the horticulture industry.

Damien Bonnamy, CFO Australia at Neoen commented:

“Elgar Middleton’s support in structuring and leading the financing process was decisive to reaching financial close in less than 7 weeks from commercial agreement, for a project mixing large wind farm, storage facility, behind the meter corporate client and a state PPA. Elgar Middleton also successfully brought together a unique combination of lenders from Europe and Asia.”

Elgar Middleton is proud to have supported this innovative wind farm and battery storage project which has reinforced the firm’s reputation as a leading independent financial adviser in the renewable energy sector.

Contact

Yuriy Davidov
[email protected]
+612 8311 0880

Elgar Middleton tops the global rankings on the Inframation financial advisor league tables for the solar sector

Elgar Middleton has been ranked by Inframation as the #1 financial advisor globally in the solar sector by deal count. This is the culmination of an extraordinary effort by both our London and Sydney based teams who collectively closed ten solar transactions with a combined capacity of over 900MW.

Among the many highlights for the year was the Wirsol / Edify AUD380 million solar financing in Australia which reached financial close in March. The transaction was the first time long-term debt was used to fund Australian renewable energy projects and was ranked as one of the top 10 global deals of 2017 by Inspiratia.

2018 has started on a positive note with significant financing activity across a range of sectors in the UK, Europe and Australia. This reflects the continued strong demand from the finance community for renewables projects.

Elgar Middleton is pleased to announce the arrival of Dominic Kua in its Sydney office

Dominic Kua has joined Elgar Middleton’s Sydney office as an Associate Director. He joins as a financial advisor specialising in Australian infrastructure and renewables. Dominic will support the team on its current M&A and debt financing mandates across the wind, solar and battery storage sectors.

Dominic brings considerable experience in the infrastructure and renewables sector as both an investor and financial advisor. Prior to joining Elgar Middleton, Dominic was a Senior Associate in the infrastructure team at Brookfield in Sydney where he was responsible for investment execution and asset management. He was also a member of Brookfield’s investment banking team, advising on infrastructure deals and raising approximately AUD 2 billion in capital.

Elgar Middleton is pleased to announce the arrival of Tom Eckersley-Waites in its London office

Tom joins as a Associate Director focused on the detailed financial modelling required for M&A and debt financing transactions, including supporting the firm on it’s current mandates in solar PV, onshore wind and battery storage.

Tom brings significant modelling, structuring, tax and accounting expertise to Elgar Middleton. He was previously at TradeRisks Ltd. where he provided treasury and funding advice to clients in the social housing, healthcare and student accommodation sectors. Prior to this, Tom spent 4 years at Operis advising on a broad range of project finance transactions including debt financing of over 200MW of solar PV worldwide.

Tom has a BA in Mathematics & Philosophy from Oxford, an MPhil Stud in Philosophy from UCL, and is a CFA charterholder.

Elgar Middleton is pleased to announce the opening of a new office in Sydney, Australia.

Elgar Middleton is launching a new office in Sydney, strengthening its ties with existing clients based in Australia and those looking to do business in Australia. Partner Edward Elgar will head up the Sydney office, and will be joined by Partners Yuriy Davidov and James Maughan.

The team will focus on advising renewable energy investors and developers on project finance and M&A across the onshore wind, solar PV and battery storage sectors.

Elgar Middleton is pleased to announce the opening of a new office in Sydney, Australia.

Elgar Middleton is launching a new office in Sydney, strengthening its ties with existing clients based in Australia and those looking to do business in Australia. Partner Edward Elgar will head up the Sydney office, and will be joined by Partners Yuriy Davidov and James Maughan.

The team will focus on advising renewable energy investors and developers on project finance and M&A across the onshore wind, solar PV and battery storage sectors.

Elgar Middleton is pleased to announce the arrival of Pierre Tarantelli in its London office as a Director.

Pierre joins as a financial advisor specialising in the UK wind and solar sectors. His focus will be M&A and debt financing, including supporting the firm on its current solar and wind refinancing mandates.

Pierre was previously a Vice President at Barclays’ Infrastructure and Project Finance team in London where he was involved in achieving financial close on approximately 100MW of onshore wind and biomass deals within the UK in the last 2 years. He has 9 years of experience in EMEA with a focus on the UK, Irish and French markets.

Elgar Middleton is recognized for the number of closed transactions it has advised as financial advisor over the past 12 months in the UK’s renewable energy sector.

Elgar Middleton has retained its #1 position among financial advisors for the third year running, according to InfraDeals’ UK Renewables 2016 rankings. During the year, the partnership advised clients on [] transactions across the solar PV, onshore wind, and anaerobic digestion sectors.

The ranking reflects the demand for the partnership’s unique debt advisory and M&A capabilities.