Ashurst advised Hyperoptic Ltd, the UK's largest residential gigabit broadband provider, on its £100 million structured debt raise to accelerate the build of its full fibre network. Ashurst worked alongside Lion Tree as the exclusive financial advisor to the company. The cash injection comes from a consortium of four tier one European banks – BNP Paribas, ING, RBS and NIBC.

The Ashurst team was led by partners Derwin Jenkinson (finance) and Amanda Hale (TMT).

Commenting, Derwin Jenkinson said:

Matheson advised Deutsche Bank AG, London Branch as Arranger and Lead Manager, in relation to the €158.2 million asset backed securities issued by Citizen Irish Auto Receivables Trust 2017 DAC in June 2017.  The transaction is a static cash securitisation of car loans (hire purchase contracts and leases) extended to Irish borrowers by First Citizen Finance DAC.  The Class A Notes were rated AAA / Aaa by S&P and Moody’s respectively.

Norton Rose Fulbright has advised the Hellenic Republic on the ownership unbundling of the Greek power grid operator, ADMIE, from the Public Power Corporation (PPC), and the partial privatisation of ADMIE through the sale of a 24% interest to the State Grid Corporation of China (State Grid).

Reed Smith was awarded Deal of the Year by Latin Lawyer in connection with its representation of Citibank, N.A. in the COP 1.3 billion financing of Concesión Pacífico Tres, the first 4G Colombian public infrastructure toll road program. The award was recently announced at Latin Lawyer’s 11th Annual Latin Lawyer Deal of the Year Awards in São Paulo and follows the firm's recognition for Latin America Road Deal of the Year by IJGlobal Project Finance & Infrastructure Journal this past March.

Linklaters has advised a consortium of sponsors on the structuring and financing of one of the most important energy projects in Mali with a total project cost of €123m.

The project consists of the construction, installation and operation of a thermal power plant with an installed capacity of 90.24 MW in Kayes, Mali.

Hogan Lovells has advised Proparco, a subsidiary of the Agence Française de Développement devoted to private sector funding, in relation to a trade finance loan facilitation programme worth $50 million for pan-African banking group Ecobank.

Allen & Overy represented Credit Suisse as lead arranger for the $335 million acquisition financing for cloud-based technology company, Dexter + Chaney, LLC by Viewpoint, Inc., a construction software firm and portfolio company of Bain Capital Private Equity. This deal highlights the growing importance and role of technology in bringing productivity advances to the construction sector. The financing consists of a $210 million first lien term loan, $30 million first lien revolving credit facility, and $95 million second lien term loan facility.

Leading global law firm Herbert Smith Freehills has advised the international division of state-owned China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPCI) on its investment in the development of Phase 11 of the South Pars gas project.

The signing in Tehran on 3 July marks the first foreign oil and gas contract signed in Iran since economic sanctions were lifted in 2016, and the first under the new Iranian Petroleum Contract (IPC) regime that is slated to bring Iran back into the international oil and gas market.

In the first international project finance loan to close in Argentina in more than a decade, leading international law firm Clifford Chance advised Citigroup Global Markets, Credit Suisse Securities and Export Development Canada as lenders in the structuring of a project financing for two gas-fired power projects being developed by Argentina's state-run energy company YPF Energía Eléctrica and GE Energy Financial Services.

Ashurst advised UniCredit Bank AG as lender, mandated lead arranger, bookrunner, facility agent and security agent on the financing of the acquisition of DuMont Carré shopping centre in Cologne by European Property Investors Special Opportunities 4, a fund managed by Tristan Capital Partners.

DuMont Carré, located in Cologne's inner-city on Breite Straße, was sold by a closed-end real estate fund based in Germany. Unicredit has taken over the entire underwriting for the financing.