Role profile
“a strongmultidisciplinary team that is a go-to for large and complextransactions.”– Chambers & Partners
We have anexciting opportunity for an experienced senior lawyer to join our UK RealEstate team, focussing on matters within our Energy & Energy Transition(“EET”) sector. This is an exciting opportunity to join a growingteam and advise on high value, strategically important projects within asupportive and collegiate environment.
Our energy and utilities practice
We are widelyacknowledged as the leading adviser on the move to a decentralised anddecarbonised energy industry and adoption of innovative energy solutions andhave adopted decarbonisation as one of the themes underpinning the firm’sTransformational strategy. As well as advising our clients within this space,we are also helping major corporates meet their net zero commitments from anenergy perspective.
Our RealEstate energy team focuses on acting for institutional investors, funders inand developers of renewables and energy innovation projects. We have extensiveexperience in providing real estate advice to our high profile clients on anextensive variety of energy projects, including solar, wind, battery storage,energy from waste and hydro power. Our practice is growing rapidly and we aregrowing our real estate team to support strong client demand.
Our RealEstate utilities team works with English and Welsh utility companies, includingthose in the electricity, water and gas industries, on a wide variety of workincluding all land rights and consenting matters. Both contentious andnon-contentious. The team also work with clients on large scale compulsoryschemes – both CPO and DCO led.
OsborneClarke’s wider real estate team acts on a comprehensive range of high value andcomplex investment, development and other transactional matters, includingcorporate structured deals, joint ventures and financings. The team works day today alongside our construction, real estate disputes, planning, corporate andfunds and finance teams.
The team
Our RealEstate team is based across Bristol, Reading and London and is made up of over100 Fee-earners, including 22 partners.
We are lookingto recruit a Real Estate lawyer with experience in either energy or utilities.Our Real Estate energy and utilities team is led by Partners, Charlotte Walker(energy) and Jonathan Mills (utilities). You will work closely with Charlotteand/or Jonathan (depending on the matter in hand) and also have the opportunityto work with the head of our UK EET sector, Matt Lewis (Partner) alongsideseveral other Partners and senior lawyers with a focus on large-scale transactionsacross the EETsector. There will also be plenty of scope to work withcolleagues across different service lines, given the nature of the work.
The work
Recent workexamples include:
- Advisedlong standing client and leading independent infrastructure and privateequity investment manager, Foresight, on an £80 million investment by twoof its funds into a portfolio of biomethane Compressed Natural Gasrefuelling stations for HGVs, which will enable fleets to switch fromdiesel to carbon-neutral fuel.
- AdvisedForesight Solar on the £245m debt refinancing of a portfolio of 28 UKsolar assets.
- Werepresented Aberdeen Standard Investments on the £105m refinancing ofAlbion Capital’s Albion Community Power UK-based renewable energyportfolio.
- Weacted for The Renewables Infrastructure Group (TRIG) on its acquisition ofthe Neilston Wind Farm and InfraRed Capital Partners Limited in itsacquisition, development and subsequent sale of the 50MW Afton Wind Farm.
- Advisedspecialist asset manager Gresham House on its acquisition of a 50MW solarfarm from Anesco as part of a £100 million partnership. Gresham House andAnesco signed a three-year development and construction agreement back inJanuary, which will see them develop a 200MW ground mounted solar PVportfolio in the UK.
- Weadvised Green Frog Power on the refinancing with Macquarie and buy-out oftheir 214MW STOR operations and InfraRed on the sale of the Viridis 230MWCM-backed gas-peaking portfolio.
- AdvisedNational Grid Electricity Distribution (NGED) on the DCO for theconnection to RWE’s Brechfa Windfarm. The project included the consentingof the electricity line and compulsory purchase of 32km of overhead andunderground 132kV. It includes acquisition on land rights from the Crownon tidal waters across the Towy River.
- Advisedon the Bicester to East Claydon Connection Project as sole advisor toSouthern Electric Power Distribution (SEPD) on its first schedule 3Electricity Act CPO. OC provided full-service support, including landrights and compulsory purchase strategy.
- SEPD- Project 500: sole adviser on a distribution network reinforcementproject, securing voluntary arrangements with approximately 500landowners.
- AdvisedEcotricity on the successful promotion of the Heckington Fen Solar ParkOrder 2025 (a c.500MW solar farm DCO with 400MW of energy storage, 400kV9km cable route, and NGET extension), including all aspects of theenvironmental impacts and grid connection options in Lincolnshireincluding interactions and commercial arrangements with Triton Knoll OFTOand Viking Link Interconnector.
- AdvisingNGED on acquisition and development strategy for various primarysubstation developments required to facilitatethe HS2 Project. This includedadvising on the scope of HS2’s powers,negotiating the terms of the relevant GVDs, advising NGED on permissionrequirements, including relevant environmental permissions, assisting withthe appeal of a planning refusal and assisting in the acquisition of landrights required.
- Actingfor NGED and advising on all aspects of the HS2 Hybrid Acts, includingnegotiating the design and construction agreement, drafting precedent GVDsused in the project, assisting in the project management of all requireddiversions and new connections, settling disputes around NRSWA, addressinglandowner claims and disputes, including those escalated to MPs, assistingin the external comms strategy for the project, securing land rights forthe project and resolving day to day project management issues with HS2and the DfT.
Technicalskills and experience
You will havegained experience within a well-respected Real Estate practice and be able todemonstrate a range of knowledge and experience of energy or utilitiesprojects.
Due to thestructure of the team and fast growth of our EET sector, we are looking toappoint a Senior Associate or Associate Director with a passion for this area.
Your careerdevelopment
Like all ourlawyers, you will benefit from our multi-award winning career developmentprogramme. At each stage of your career this provides you with:
- Clear expectations of your role and whatit takes to progress
- High quality clients and work, with earlyresponsibility and client exposure
- Thorough assessment and individualfeedback from a range of experienced colleagues
- Robust technical training with earlyskills based development, increasingly tailored to you
- Reward for your contribution, progressionand potential, rather than PQE or tenure
Our recruitment process
Please note we review and progress applications on a rolling basis. At Osborne Clarke we do not make any recruitment decisions using automated decision-making.
We are committed to providing an environment where you can perform to the best of your abilities at every stage of your recruitment experience and beyond. If you require any adjustments to be made during the application stage, interview process, or when working with us, please let us know in confidence.
About Us
Osborne Clarke is an international legal practice with over 330 Partners and more than 1,260 talented lawyers in 26 locations*. Our sector-based approach enables us to help our clients tackle the issues they are facing today, and prepare for the ones that they will face tomorrow. Advising them both comprehensively and commercially. We love working closely with our clients on new deals, products and solutions which will transform their businesses, markets and even sectors. And our unique approachable culture is not an added extra, it’s fundamental to our success.
AtOsborne Clarkewe value difference and encourage applicants from all backgrounds. We want everyone to feel that OC is a place where you can be yourself and belong, and our range of interest groups and diversity networks – not to mention our great teams – are a part of making that a reality. We value the health and wellbeing of our people and our wide range of initiatives and benefits support this.
*Services in India are provided by a relationship firm
#J-18808-Ljbffr…