Linklaters advised Octopus Investments on the successful completion of a £174 million refinancing of the largest independent portfolio of biomass and landfill gas projects in the UK. The refinancing is one of the largest transactions of its kind and the first major UK biomass deal in 2018.

The biomass portfolio, which Octopus acquired on behalf of its investors in 2015, includes 5 biomass plants and 22 landfill sites.

The financing was provided by Natwest, HSBC, Investec, Sabadell, Barclays and AIB.

Richard Coar, Energy partner at Linklaters, said: “This is a landmark transaction for the renewable sector. It demonstrates the continued appetite in the commercial bank market for financings of biomass and LFG assets, both on an individual and on a portfolio basis. It also illustrates the flexibility commercial banks are prepared to afford experienced operators of sizeable portfolios of assets.”

The Linklaters team was led by Energy partner Richard Coar and included managing associates Francesca Matthews and Ivan Ditiatev and associates Noor Ashraf and Jack Mullins. Linklaters previously advised Octopus on the £485m refinancing of a 522MW portfolio of 74 ground-mounted solar photovoltaic (PV) assets in the UK – part of the largest portfolio of solar PV plants in Europe.