A cross sector team from the firm has advised one of the leading UK's developers, St Modwen, on the sale of its Baglan Bay photovoltaic park to Innova Energy.
St Modwen originally acquired the 1,050-acre Baglan Bay site in Port Talbot in 2011 and as part of the redevelopment constructed the largest photovoltaic park on a brownfield site in Wales. The site provides all the right conditions for a photovoltaic park, from good exposure to sunlight, an ideal coastal climate for cooling panels and located in an area that does not impact the public.
Following a bidding process led by JLL, the transaction, which was structured as an asset sale alongside a grant of a lease by St Modwen as part of the arrangement, was finalised in just under a month.
The acquisition of the photovoltaic park represents the latest acquisition for Innova Energy in the renewable energy sector as it continues to build its portfolio of solar assets.
The Gowling WLG specialist team was led by Gareth Baker and Max Moore (corporate), with support from Julia Cooper-Perks, Helen Emmerson and Tim Steele (real estate), Ben Stansfield (planning & environment), Chris Nyland and Tom Rank (tax) and James Stanier (commercial energy & regulatory).
Commenting on the transaction, corporate and energy partner Gareth Baker said:
"We are pleased to have supported on this transaction as St Modwen redirects its investment towards its core business and Innova Energy expands its UK solar projects pipeline. Both organisations are well known to the firm and we look forward to supporting future projects."
Foot Anstey acted for Innova Energy.
Gowling WLG's sector-focused energy team offers clients pro-active, commercially-focused and innovative solutions - wherever they are in the world. This latest deal continues the firm's leading advisory work in energy sector and closely follows the team's work advising Downing Renewables & Infrastructure Trust plc on its IPO which raised £122.5 million and AtmosClear Investments on its acquisition of a solar photovoltaic rooftop portfolio. In November, the team was recognised for its leading Energy & Renewables practice in The Times Best Law Firms 2021.