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Partner & Chair of the Board
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Sustainability has moved from niche interest to mainstream demand among an environmentally and socially conscious community, with policy and activism fuelling this new challenge for lenders.
Jurisdictions around the world are setting out sustainable finance roadmaps that realign their regulatory and financial policies to enable the financial system to contribute to, rather than hinder, the transition to a low emissions economy.
In New Zealand, the finance industry along with other key stakeholders, has a critical role to play in addressing the shift towards sustainable practices.
Our specialist finance lawyers provide market-leading advice on products in the sustainable arena including:
- green bonds and other sustainable bonds
- sustainability-linked facilities
- transition finance
- impact and social investing
- credits for sustainable projects
- carbon trading products and sustainability-linked derivatives.
- Advising arrangers and lenders on market-leading sustainability-linked loans to borrowers including Landcorp New Zealand / Pāmu, Contact Energy and Synlait Milk – the first sustainability-linked loan in New Zealand.
- Advising borrowers including KMD Brands, Christchurch International Airport and Southern Pastures on sustainability-linked loans.
- Assisting New Zealand Green Investment Finance (NZGIF) during its preliminary development and establishment phase, and advising on NZGIF transactions including the residential mezzanine funding, development funding, commercial project funding and schools project provided to solarZero.
- Advising Precinct Properties and Mercury New Zealand on their retail NZX-listed green bond issuances
- Advising Mercury New Zealand and Westpac New Zealand on the first offshore green bond is on the first offshore green bond offers by New Zealand issuers, into the Australian (AMTN) and European (EMTN) market, respectively.
- Assisting Christchurch City Holdings with its inaugural sustainability bond, the first to be successfully offered using an FMA exemption structure to allow it to proceed under a terms sheet.
- Advising Kāinga Ora (New Zealand’s largest issuer of sustainability bonds) on the use of its wholesale ‘wellbeing bond’ programme, including structuring their inaugural inflation-indexed bonds, a $300m 20-year issuance, and creation of their bond tender programme.
- Advising Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Social Development on the procurement, negotiation and documentation of pilot projects for the use of social bonds in New Zealand, an innovative tool for the delivery of social services where the government pays when results are achieved.
- Advising the trustee and cornerstone investors on a range of novel – and industry awarded – social bond issuances managed by Community Finance and utilising warehousing and note issuance structures, including funding provided to The Salvation Army and CORT (Community of Refuge Trust).
- Assisting NWB Bank on its SDG Housing Kauri bonds, Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank on its inaugural sustainable development Kauri bond and IFC on its green Kauri bond (the first ever green bond in the New Zealand market).
- Assisting multiple clients to develop their sustainable finance frameworks and prepare disclosure and reporting in line with regulator requirements and guidance.
- Advising multiple clients on a range of sustainable finance derivative products, including carbon derivative and sustainability-linked derivatives.
Provide pragmatic and commercial advice and don't look at transactions in isolation.Chambers Asia Pacific 2021
