05 February 2008
5 February 2008: Clayton Utz is expanding its project finance capability in anticipation of increased market activity in 2008, hiring finance specialists Simon Irvine and Chris Redden in its Debt Finance group.
Simon joins the firm as a partner, having been a partner at Pinsent Masons in Hong Kong where he specialised in international finance transactions with a project finance focus. Prior to that, he spent 10 years at Allen & Overy where he advised on a wide range of high-profile project financings throughout the Asia Pacific region.
Chris meanwhile joins the Debt Finance group as a senior associate. Chris has recently returned to Australia from London, where he spent 6 years with Linklaters specialising in international project finance across a broad range of sectors.
Simon said he expected strong growth in the Australian project finance market in 2008 as governments continued to pursue PPP projects, and private sector investment in projects in the resources, energy, renewables and infrastructure areas continued to increase.
"Banks have recently been boosting their project finance teams in Australia to accommodate an upswing in activity, and Australian corporates and financial institutions are also expanding their Asian activity on the back of investment opportunities in the region. This will fuel an increasing need for support from law firms able to provide top-quality project finance lawyers with an understanding of both the domestic and international financing market," said Simon.
"We are also seeing increasing investment in infrastructure and energy projects across the country. The commodities boom and high oil prices are also likely to encourage greater investment in projects by independent small cap companies as they become more bullish about their development prospects. It is very exciting to join a first rate banking team looking to focus its activities in this growth area."
Clayton Utz Banking & Finance head Grant Fuzi said the appointments reflected the firm's aim of attracting talented senior practitioners with experience that complemented its growth strategy.
"Simon and Chris both have international experience on a range of major global project financings across several key sectors, which will give our finance team added capability as we look to capitalise on the expected upswing in project finance activity in 2008. Their experience in advising both project developers and lenders at an international level will be invaluable."
