Independent UK law firm Burges Salmon has advised Rock Road, the zero-emission bus financier, on the launch of its new funding platform created through the partnership between its owners, Rock Rail and Aviva, and the UK Infrastructure Bank.
The partnership, together with a senior debt facility from the UK Infrastructure Bank and HSBC UK, has committed an initial £100 million to fund up to 250 zero-emission buses and associated infrastructure. Under the new venture, a deal has already been agreed to fund 60 battery-electric buses that will be leased to the Go-Ahead Group and deployed on routes throughout London, reducing carbon emissions and improving air quality across the city.
Burges Salmon’s Sustainable Transport team advised on all aspects of the transaction for the Rock Group, providing corporate, projects and finance expertise. The cross-disciplinary team was led by partners Chris Simms, Stuart McMillan and Danny Lee, supported by senior associates Daniel Hogg and Elin Blundell, and associates Madison Sutton and Olivia Hoh.
Chris Simms comments: “It has been a pleasure working with the Rock team on the launch of its new funding platform, which unlocks significant capital to invest in the decarbonisation of the UK transport sector by supporting bus operators and public transport authorities transition their fleet and deploy more EV buses on UK roads.
“In a deal that was highly complex and involved many moving parts, our thorough understanding of commercial arrangements for EV vehicles, our track record advising on many decarbonisation projects in the transport sector, together with our collaborative approach so we could seamlessly work with all parties, meant we were in a prime position to lead Rock through a successful outcome.”
David Rose, Director of Rock Road adds: “We’re delighted to be working with Aviva, the UK Infrastructure Bank and HSBC UK to invest in the decarbonisation of bus networks across the UK. We’re grateful to the Burges Salmon team for their on-point advice throughout the whole process, the team’s experience in the transport sector really shone through and the understanding they have of the finance mechanisms meant we could rely on their expertise to get the deal over the line.”