Norton Rose Fulbright team wins Energy & Infrastructure Team of the Year at Law.com’s British Legal Awards

Global law firm Norton Rose Fulbright has been awarded ‘Energy & Infrastructure Team of the Year’ at the British Legal Awards 2021. The event, hosted at the London Hilton, Park Lane in London by Law.com, recognises leading legal practices in the region and represents the best legal practitioners within the UK legal community.

Norton Rose Fulbright was recognised for its work advising on the world’s largest offshore wind farm. The team from across its London and Paris offices and Newcastle hub advised a consortium of 29 banks and three export credit agencies on the raising of circa £5.5bn of debt including ancillary facilities for Dogger Bank A and Dogger Bank B. Central to the UK’s renewable energy future, Dogger Bank is a joint venture between the lead operator for development and construction, SSE Renewables and Equinor, the company responsible for acting as the lead operator during the wind farm’s operational phase.

With a target completion date in 2026, Dogger Bank will become the largest wind farm on the planet, producing 3.6GW of renewable energy; equating to enough electricity to power six million homes in the UK and being responsible for satisfying over 5% of the country’s total demand for electrical power.

Rob Marsh, co-chair of the firm’s renewable energy practice, led the team. He comments:

“As we move into the financing of the third phase of this landmark project, it is fantastic to have been recognised at these awards for our team’s work on Dogger Bank. Working closely and collaboratively with the sponsors and their advisory team, it is testimony to all involved that we delivered such a large and complex transaction successfully, in the middle of a global pandemic. Utilising innovative and technological solutions that enabled the process to be streamlined contributed significantly to this success.”

The Norton Rose Fulbright team was led by Rob Marsh, and also included projects partner Matthew Hardwick and associates Ben Carrozzi, Chris Aird, Melusi Dlamini and Charles Winch. Partners Dan Wagerfield, Caroline May, Sarah Fitzpatrick and counsel Lucy Bruce Jones provided real estate, environment and planning advice. Partners Davide Barzilai, Christine Ezcutari, Alexandre Roth, counsels Richard Blackburn and senior associate Paolo Pinna provided additional banking advice. Partner Matt Hodkin and associate Will Scott provided tax advice.