Simon Caridia

He advises industry sponsors, infrastructure and private equity funds, commercial bank lenders, multilateral agencies and institutional investors on acquisitions, refinancings and restructurings including in distressed debt situations. He also has considerable experience in greenfield project finance.

Simon has been recognised as a leading practitioner for infrastructure finance and project finance since 2018. According to clients “Simon is a very knowledgeable counsel, with impressive commercial acumen that can really handle a financing process and influence outcomes”, “he always makes the best of opportunities and advises not just from a legal perspective but also from the corporate and strategic side”. Other clients state “Simon is an exceptional lawyer. He manages to be all over the detail without getting bogged down and provides the commercial advice to get the job done” and “his pace and commitment is incredible" (Chambers UK). 

Representative experience (also from previous firm) includes advising:

• North Sea Midstream Partners, a subsidiary of Wren House and JP Morgan, on the restructuring and refinancing of the entire NSMP group through a common terms platform including term bank debt, a US private placement and separate L/C facilities to support NSMP’s decommissioning liabilities
• Actis in relation to the financing for its acquisition of Telekom Serbia, the operator of telecom towers in Serbia, Bosnia and Montenegro
• Lenders to I Squared Capital in relation to the financing for its US$2.15 billion acquisition of GTT Communications’ infrastructure division consisting of its pan-European fibre network and data centre assets
• Macquarie Asset Management in relation to the financing for its €2.1bn acquisition of a 49% interest in HEDNO, the Greek state owned electricity distribution network operator and its subsequent refinancing
• Condor Ferries, the operator of ferry services between UK–Channel Islands–France, in relation to a complex capital restructuring including a senior debt refinancing, a debt for equity swap and a transfer of shareholder equity
• Global Investment Holding in relation to the financing for its take private of Global Ports Holding via an unconditional recommended cash offer
• Lenders to Ancala in relation to the financing for its acquisition of, and provision of a complex network of performance bond facilities for, Babcock’s pan-European aerial emergency services business
• Strategic Value Partners in relation to the distressed debt restructuring and refinancing of Douro Litoral, a Portuguese toll road operator
• Arjun Infrastructure in connection with the refinancing of Indigo Pipelines, a UK gas and electricity transportation operator
• John Laing in relation to the acquisition of a portfolio of European infrastructure assets from HICL
• Arjun Infrastructure in relation to the financing for its acquisition of Extra Motorway Services including senior and junior tranches of debt
• Ancala in connection with the refinancing of Biogen Waste Management, the UK’s largest provider of anaerobic digestion recycling services
• North Sea Midstream Partners in relation to the financing for its acquisition of the Risavika regasification plant in Norway
• Lenders to Global Power Generation, a subsidiary of Wren House and Naturgy, in relation to the $1.5bn holdco refinancing of its generating assets in Latin America
• Ancala in relation to the financing for its acquisition of Hector Rail, a Swedish rolling stock operator
• Commercial bank lenders and institutional debt providers in relation to the multi-source financing for the acquisition by Whitehelm Capital of Pioneer Public Properties, a portfolio of 174 preschools in the Nordics
• Ancala in relation to its acquisition of International Energy Group, the gas and LPG distribution and supply business located in the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man, from Brookfield
• Arcus Infrastructure Partners in relation to the financing for its public to private takeover of Forth Ports plc
• Lenders to Goldman Sachs Infrastructure Partners, 3i and Ilmarinen in relation to the financing for their acquisition of Elenia Oy, an electricity distribution company and district heating business in Finland, from Vattenfall
• L1 Energy in relation to the $6.5bn reserves based financing for its acquisition of RWE Dea
• Goldman Sachs Infrastructure Partners in relation to the financing for its acquisition of an 80% stake in Endesa Gas (now known as Redexis) in Spain and subsequent acquisition of the remaining 20%
• Lenders in relation to the hybrid acquisition/project financing for its acquisition of the Altamira II LNG facility in Mexico 
• Viridor and John Laing in relation to the complex distressed restructuring and refinancing of the Greater Manchester energy from waste project
• DIF in relation to the disposal of a portfolio of European infrastructure assets to APG