08/11/2022
Bevan Brittan’s growing Energy and Resource Management (ERM) Group recorded another positive set of results in the latest Legal 500 and Chambers rankings, with clients providing independent feedback such as:
“The team comprises genuine leaders in their field. Its energy practice in particular is market leading. Individuals within the team go the extra mile to really ingratiate themselves within our business team and working with them is good fun.”
Partner and head of the Group Nadeem Arshad was again named as a ‘Leading Individual’ by the Legal 500, while his colleague Nathan Bradberry was listed as a ‘Next Generation Partner’. The Group also achieved their first ranking in the West Midlands, while they maintained their Tier 2 and Tier 3 positions in the South West and Yorkshire respectively.
There were plenty of positives in this year’s Chambers rankings too, with Nadeem and ERM colleague Judith Hopper listed for their Potential. The firm also maintained its UK-wide Tier 3 ranking for Infrastructure: PFI/PPP, which includes a number of major Waste PFI/PPP transactions.
Here, we talk to Nadeem about the team’s work across the past 12 months, as well as what the future has in store.
What makes this a standout year for you and your team?
It has been an incredible year for us. We have established a growing reputation in both the Energy and Resource Management sectors. In the last 12 months we have been advising on transactions worth over £3 billion.
In the Energy space, our focus is all things Net Zero and includes district energy, energy efficiency, solar PV, battery storage and EV charging infrastructure.
Energy efficiency remains a huge missed opportunity in the UK and we must do more to reduce our demand for energy in both the domestic and commercial sector, particularly in light of spiralling energy bills. We have been advising clients on a raft of deals to reduce their energy spend and operate their businesses in a much more efficient way.
New technologies and energy innovation deals continue to land on our desks – from smart grids and hydrogen projects to innovative energy storage solutions.
In the Waste and Resource Management sector, Energy from Waste (EfW) remains a very busy area for us. We advise all the key parties to a transaction, including waste management companies, funders, energy off-takers and the public sector. We have seen an increasing focus on heat network connections to EfW plants and in the last year have advised on over 10 deals in this area.
We are also seeing an increasing interest in Carbon Capture, Utilisation and Storage (CCUS) and have a number of clients exploring CCUS opportunities on their projects, including in both the North East and North West cluster zones.
Which cases/work/projects are you most proud of and why?
We have advised on some major Energy and Resource Management deals nationally over the last year. I’m very proud of the knowledge, dedication and commitment our ERM Group has shown to deliver on these incredible projects. Notable examples across the past year include advising:
- A leading UK energy company on their bid for the £1 billion Bristol City Leap project, which aims to make Bristol a zero-carbon and smart energy city by 2030. The project involves the delivery of low carbon energy infrastructure, such as solar PV, heat networks, heat pumps and energy efficiency measures at scale.
- Brent Cross South Limited Partnership (a joint venture between Argent and related companies) on the utilities, district energy and heat pump aspects of Brent Cross Town. The major new £8 billion development in North West London involves 6,700 new homes and it aims to be a Net Zero carbon town by 2030.
- A leading UK energy and waste management company on their bid for the £2.1 billion Tees Valley Waste PPP. The project involves the development of a regional Energy Recovery Facility on Teesside. It was shortlisted by the Department for Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) to progress to the next phase of the Government's Cluster Sequencing Process, which will support the development and operation of Carbon Capture and Storage.
It is very satisfying, after we have all worked so hard on these great projects, to see the following client testimonials in Legal 500:
“They put significant time and effort into winning and then delivering on mandates. They are very open and transparent with their pricing and actually want to get to know the individuals within our team on a personal as well as business level.”
“Fantastic team spirit”, “going the extra mile for clients” and “really understanding our sector”.
Those are comments to be proud of and really epitomise the culture of Bevan Brittan.
Looking ahead, what themes do you see emerging in the energy sector over the next 12 months and what do you hope to achieve?
It is a great sector to be part of. It is extremely diverse and fast-paced - there are always new technologies, projects and opportunities to consider – and all of these are helping in our collective efforts to ensure the UK meets its Net Zero obligations.
Energy issues also affect everyone, from individuals to massive businesses. Understandably, there is currently a lot of interest in the area, with issues such as energy pricing, energy security, Net Zero, the climate emergency and plastics pollution attracting plenty of attention.
With this in mind, we are continuing to grow our client offering in the ERM sector. In the last 12 months we have appointed health and safety law specialist Louise Mansfield (Legal Director) and 3 projects/commercial lawyers – Olubunmi Alasi (Associate), Carrie Davies (Solicitor) and Kamran Zaheer (Solicitor). We were also delighted to recently welcome Harriet Murray Jones (Partner) to the team.
We are currently in the second year of a five-year firm wide plan to take the ERM Group to a whole new level and I am seeking to recruit additional ERM lawyers at all levels to join us on our exciting journey.
