Linklaters Advises Transmission Capital Partners on First Two Acquisitions of UK Offshore Transmission Assets

Linklaters has advised on the first two offshore transmission projects in the UK market to reach financial close to date, reinforcing the firm’s excellent reputation in the renewables and transmission sectors.

Linklaters advised a consortium of Transmission Capital Limited, Amber Infrastructure and International Public Partnerships (together, Transmission Capital Partners) in relation to the acquisition and financing of the offshore transmission assets connecting the 173MW Gunfleet Sands wind farm to the onshore distribution network.

In 2009, a new regulatory regime was launched in respect of the ownership of UK offshore transmission assets. Linklaters was appointed to advise Transmission Capital Partners on their bids to acquire the transmission assets relating to the nine offshore wind farms within the first transitional round.

Transmission Capital Partners has been extremely successful, being awarded preferred bidder status on four out of the nine projects awarded to date. Following on from this success, Transmission Capital Partners has also qualified as a bidder for the second tender round for three more offshore transmission connections, to the London Array (Phase 1), Lincs and Gwynt-y-Mor offshore wind farms. Transmission Capital Partners achieved financial close on the acquisition of the first transitional project, Robin Rigg, on 2 March 2011, a transaction on which Linklaters also advised.

This is a significant new asset class, both in the UK and across the rest of Europe. The value of the offshore transmission assets within the first transitional round is estimated to be £1.1bn. It is anticipated that the investment needed to connect those offshore wind farms which have been granted Crown Estate leases under the Round 1, 2 and 3 could be up to £15 billion. Significant investment will also be required across the rest of Europe to support other countries’ offshore wind programmes.

The Linklaters team was led by Energy & Infrastructure partners, Charlotte Morgan and Richard Coar, in London.

 Richard Coar, a partner in Linklaters’ Energy & Infrastructure group, said:

 “This transaction demonstrates our ability to maintain close relationships with our clients and work closely with them to successfully finance new asset classes in an efficient manner in challenging market conditions. We are delighted to be able to continue to use our extensive expertise in the renewable and transmission sectors to assist Transmission Capital Partners in this rapidly developing new market.”

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Source: linklaters, July 21, 2011;