Overview
Stephen is an energy and infrastructure specialist with over 20 years of experience advising on large-scale, cross-border project development, project finance, joint venture and M&A transactions in the energy and infrastructure sectors (including renewables and wider energy transition, power, industrials, oil and gas, petrochemicals and transport infrastructure). He has particular expertise in structured finance and multisource project financings including Export Credit Agencies (ECAs) and other international financial institutions.
Stephen set up the firm’s Seoul office in 2013 and was Seoul office Managing Partner 2016-2018, and continues to lead the firm’s relationships with many Korean corporates, ECAs and banks in Seoul.
Stephen previously worked for nine years in the firm’s London office and for three years in our Moscow office. He joined our Paris team in September 2018.
Stephen is ranked by Chambers and by Legal 500 as a leading Projects & Infrastructure practitioner, and has taken a leading role on many of our most significant projects globally.
Work highlights
His recent experience includes advising:
- the project company on the €2.7bn project financing of the 640MW Yunlin offshore wind farm project in Taiwan. The financing group comprised a large group of international and Taiwanese banks and three ECAs including EKF, Euler Hermes and Atradius. In 2023, Stephen led a very significant €1.7bn restructuring and recapitalisation of the project.
- the Sponsors and project company on the ACC gigafactory project in northern France, Germany and Italy, with multisource financing from a variety of ECAs, commercial banks and other financial institutions.
- the (European and Asian) ECAs, commercial lenders and Islamic facility providers on the c.USD9bn multi-source ECA-backed greenfield project financing of the Amiral petrochemicals project in Saudi Arabia sponsored by Saudi Aramco and TotalEnergies
- KEXIM on a US$6bn framework financing to Saudi Aramco designed to increase trade and cooperation between the Republic of Korea and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Of the $6 billion, $1 billion has been set aside for hydrogen and renewable energy deals.
- SACE and the Egyptian and international lenders on a US$1.5bn combined project and sovereign financing relating to the new Assiut hydrocracking complex to be built in Egypt as an upgrade of an existing refinery. The structure of this financing involved a SACE covered tranche (benefiting from a guarantee issued by the Egyptian State), but also a second tranche made available by international lenders to regional banks on a covered basis, and then on-lent to the project company on an uncovered, limited-recourse basis, with a full suite of asset-level security.
Education and qualifications
Stephen studied law with French at the University of Nottingham and the Université de Nantes. He is a Solicitor of the senior courts of England & Wales and also qualified as a French Avocat à la Cour, registered with the Paris Bar.
He speaks English and French.
