International law firm CMS has closed five significant battery storage deals in recent months, reinforcing the firm’s market-leading position in this space.
These include:
Advising Zenobē on two new battery storage projects – CMS advised Zenobē, one of the UK’s leading owners and operators of battery storage, in relation to the commercial contracts for two new battery projects at Wishaw, Scotland (50MW / 100MWh) and Swindon (12MW / 24MWh) as well as in securing more funding from Santander UK to support their construction. The increased support – a non-recourse debt facility – from Santander builds on the facility arranged between Zenobē and Santander in 2019 and expanded last year for Zenobē’s existing portfolio of operational assets. The latest funding is drawn from the pre-construction project financing facility that CMS helped Zenobē expand last year. These new projects represent further significant milestones for Zenobē: Wishaw will be the first transmission connected battery project in Scotland, and they will be the first in the UK to act as a flexibility tool to manage constraints, as part of National Grid ESO’s constraint management pathfinder project.
Advising Close Brothers on one of the largest battery projects in the UK - CMS has advised longstanding client Close Brothers on the funding of a 100MW battery project in Kent developed by Pacific Green Technologies Group. Pacific Green has a pipeline of 1.1GW of battery projects in the UK with this project being the first of a larger portfolio that will be financed by Close Brothers. This funding will cover the battery energy storage system construction phase.
Advising Santander on financing for four new-build battery storage facilities – CMS advised longstanding client Santander UK on its debt financing of the first UK investment of French investment management company RGREEN INVEST. The financing - which confirms Santander’s position as one of the leading funders of battery energy storage projects (in excess of £250 million in debt financings) - supports the construction and development of a 107 MW new-build lithium iron phosphate battery energy storage facility portfolio across England.
Advising Field on £77m financing for portfolio of battery storage assets - CMS has advised Field, a leading battery storage development company, on its £47m financing from investment firm Triple Point Energy Efficiency Infrastructure Company (TEEC) and additional £30 million of equity funding from early-stage investor Plural, to build a 110MW portfolio of battery storage assets. Field is aiming to reach 1.3GW of operational battery storage assets in the UK by 2024. Securing this financing from TEEC will allow Field to build a portfolio of four assets across the UK.
Advising on £60m UK battery storage financing - CMS advised Harmony Energy Income Trust plc (“Harmony”), an externally managed company that invests in energy storage assets in Great Britain, in relation to a £60m portfolio finance facility with NatWest plc. The primary purpose of the facility is to support the acquisition and construction of Harmony’s first pipeline project: a 99 MW / 198 MWh project located in Buckinghamshire known as "Bumpers".
Commenting on these transactions, Louise Dalton, Partner at CMS said: “As the energy storage market matures in the UK, energy storage financing has really come to the fore. Appetite for funding such projects is at an all-time high, as is demonstrated by these five significant deals, with new entrants to the market and truly innovative projects being developed across the UK.”
Philip Duffield, Partner at CMS added: “We are continuing to see an extremely strong pipeline of UK battery storage projects, particularly in terms of the increasing scale of projects in development. The market will present a growing number of opportunities for funders over the next twelve months, and in that context we also expect to see syndicated and multi-funder financings become increasingly common.”
The CMS team advising Zenobē was led by Projects partner Philip Duffield, and included Iona Hunter, Hannah Gibson and Rosie Walsh-Kirk (Projects); Katie Duffield, Hannah Merrick, Chris Thorp and Piers McLaren (Finance); Louise Dalton, Sabrina Polito, Maurice Katsigazi, Jure Tus, William Stewart and Ed Longden (Energy); and Claire Wallis, Leilah Rawle, Emma Halabi, June Gilles, Robert Garden, Louise Brymer, Jess Buttanshaw and Katie Fleming (Real Estate). CMS also advised Zenobē on the Capenhurst project last year (100MW / 200MWh), which will be the first project in the world to provide reactive power services to the grid and will also be the largest transmission-connected project in Europe.
Finance partner Gordon Hay led the team advising Close Brothers on the funding of Pacific Green’s 100MW battery project, assisted by Jennifer Stewart, Michael Urquhart, Kirsty Nurse, Laura Sefton, Darren Craig, Keith Simpson and Celine Skinner (Finance); Sarah McGowan and Claudia Russell (Construction), Louise Dalton and Sabrina Polito (Energy); and Tom Ballard (Projects).
Finance partner Hugo Coetzee led on Santander UK’s debt financing of RGREEN INVEST’s first UK investment, and included Will Fenn, Jack Corr and Kirsty Templar (Finance) and Darren Craig and Keith Simpson (Real Estate).
Partners John Finnemore (Corporate), Louise Dalton (Energy), Katie Duffield (Finance) and Philip Duffield (Projects) led the advice to Field. The wider team included Hannah Merrick and Christopher Thorp (Finance); Sophie Curran, Nicoletta Francis and Mumuksha Singh (Corporate); Freddie May and Sabrina Polito (Energy); Ollie Ratnatunga and Tom Ballard (Projects); and Marcin Patrzala and Louise Brymer (Real Estate).
Finally, Energy Finance partner Nicholas Ross-McCall led on Harmony Energy’s financing, supported by Louise Dalton and Gregor Hunter (Energy) and Philip Duffield and Tom Ballard (Projects).
