News | Private Equity

Monday 20th May 2002

SJ Berwin advised Innisfree Limited on its launch of a major joint fund with M&G Investment Management Limited. The fund - Innisfree M&G PPP LP - is a new type of private finance fund which invests in completed projects to provide investors with a long-term income stream. This is one of the first ever funds of this type, which is known as a "Secondary Project Financing Fund". The fund has secured £100 million of committed capital at its first closing.

The SJ Berwin team was led by corporate finance partners Jonathan Blake and Jonathan Pittal, assisted by Michael Halford and Robert Searle.

M&G Investment Management Limited was advised by Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and Lovells acted on behalf of investors.

Jonathan Blake commented that: "We are excited to have worked on this innovative new fund which reflects Innisfree's pioneering role in the project finance funds sector."

David Metter, CEO of Innisfree, said "The creation of the fund shows the private sector's longer-term faith in PFI in the wake of the concerns that some of the City expressed after the government put Railtrack into administration."

• SJ Berwin is a full-service international legal practice with more than 470 lawyers across its offices in London, Brussels, Frankfurt, Berlin, Munich, Madrid and Paris.
• With a dedicated European private equity team comprising over 150 full-time corporate private equity lawyers together with support from its other departments, SJ Berwin advises clients on the full-range of private equity business, both in connection with the establishment of private equity funds and their associated incentive schemes, and on MBOs, MBIs, public-to-privates and venture capital investments.
• SJ Berwin recently won "Private Equity Law Firm of the Year: Firm and funds work" at the European Venture Capital Journal Awards and "Best Law Firm (fund documentation)" at the PrivateEquityOnline Awards, and was runner up in the category of "Best Law Firm (transactions)".
• SJ Berwin has also recently won the European Venture Capital Journal Award for Private Equity Law Firm of the Year 2000, Law Firm of the Year and Property Team of the Year at The Lawyer Awards 2000, and Competition Team of the Year at the Legal Business Awards 2000.