Gowling WLG hires a new international projects partner

12 May 2016

International law firm Gowling WLG has hired Andrew Newbery as a partner. He has joined the firm's global projects team and is a member of the energy, infrastructure and natural resources sector groups.

Andrew specialises in advising on significant EMEA infrastructure, energy, mining and project finance transactions. He has also developed an enviable reputation in the field of project development and project finance.

Andrew was previously a partner at Herbert Smith Freehills, which he joined in 2006. In 2008 he became managing partner in its Abu Dhabi office. He left in 2013 to establish his own consultancy in London where he completed a major mandate advising on the Thames Tideway Tunnel (or 'super sewer' project).

As head of commercial, Andrew was responsible for leading senior level discussions with important government stakeholders and was also part of the management team which, in August 2015, successfully procured a bid from a consortium comprising a number of well-known investors (including Amber Infrastructure, Dalmore Capital and Allianz) to take this £4.2 billion project forward.

Andrew has since been working as part of the in-house team of a company proposing a major HVDC subsea interconnector between the UK and continental Europe. In the first report of the new National Infrastructure Commission, increased interconnection was identified as a priority recommendation for the UK, so Andrew's development experience in this area is very topical.

At Gowling WLG, Andrew brings skills and experience gained on Thames Tideway Tunnel and numerous other projects to target priority infrastructure and energy work in both the UK, Africa and the Middle East.

The UK is currently planning nationally significant infrastructure projects such as HS2 and Crossrail 2, as well as a number of new nuclear and CCGT power stations and onshore transmission lines, sectors in which Andrew also has experience.

Andrew Newbery said: "I am looking forward to getting back into private practice with such a great projects team. I have been impressed by the enthusiasm of its lawyers as well as the strength of the firm's regulatory, funds and construction expertise.

"This is going to be a great platform and I believe that my recent client-side experiences will benefit the firm and its clients. Lessons learned on major UK procurements such as interconnectors and the super sewer will be pertinent elsewhere, including in the international arena where my earlier experience of procuring and financing large-scale infrastructure projects in the Middle East and Africa will also be relevant to my brief."

David Fennell, chief executive, Gowling WLG (UK) LLP, said: "The global energy and infrastructure sectors present important opportunities for our clients as governments seek to meet their complex energy and infrastructure needs. Increasingly, alternative approaches to project development are needed. Andrew adds considerable strength to our offering to clients in project/project development and financing across the world."

Andrew will work closely with Gowling WLG's global projects/project finance partners including energy sector lead Derek Goodban (London) and projects/infrastructure lead partners Jonathan Brufal (Dubai) and Stephen Kenny (London), and natural resources lead Charles Bond.

Prior to Herbert Smith, Andrew joined Norton Rose in 1992 and qualified as a solicitor in 1994 having worked in London, Singapore and New York. He was made a partner in the firm's London office in 2001.

Andrew's appointment follows that of Paul Murphy in Canada who has joined its leading nuclear team as managing director and Matthew Harvey who this month joined from Dentons as a partner in the banking and finance team in London.

Gowling WLG was formed on 22nd February through the combination of Gowlings and Wragge Lawrence Graham & Co.

Gowling WLG's projects, infrastructure and energy teams count some of the biggest names in the sector as clients, and have an excellent track record of closing PPP projects in the UK involving strategically important infrastructure and globally in jurisdictions, where there is little or no precedent or regulation, nor an established track record of PPPs. The team has just been nominated as Infrastructure Team of the Year in The Lawyer Awards 2016.

Recent successes include advising the Rwanda's Ministry of Trade and Industry on the development of the Kigali Logistics Platform concession which is a 25 year concession to operate a logistics platform in Rwanda and first PPP of its type in Africa, and advising the UK Ministry of Defence on its military air traffic control PPP awarded to Thales/NATS.


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