Four UK firms win roles as NDA auctions land to power companies

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, Herbert Smith, CMS Cameron McKenna and Burges Salmon have won headline roles on a £387m auction for land on which to build the next generation of UK nuclear power plants.

The 30-day online auction set up by the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) closed last week (29 April), with three companies picking up mandates to build three new nuclear power stations in Anglesey in Wales, Oldbury in Gloucestershire and Bradwell in Essex.

A joint venture between E.ON UK and RWE npower – which earlier this year teamed up to focus on securing sites being sold by the NDA – won leases on the land in Wales and Gloucestershire. Meanwhile, French energy group EDF won the right to build a new station on a 493-acre site in Essex.

E.ON turned to regular adviser Freshfields, where real estate partner David Lewis and corporate partner Andrew Hutchings led the team. The firm worked with E.ON in-house counsel Alex Rippon and Sara Vaughan. Joint venture partner RWE turned to Camerons, with corporate partner Charles Currier at the helm.

Both Camerons and Freshfields advised on the strategic tie-up between E.ON and RWE, which was agreed in January.

Herbert Smith advised longstanding client EDF, fielding a team led by energy and natural resources partner Mark Newbery. The top 10 City law firm also advised EDF last year on its £12.4bn takeover of British Energy with Newbery, alongside corporate partner Michael Shaw, advising.

The NDA took advice from panel firm Burges Salmon, led by nuclear head Ian Salter, supported by property head Paul Browne.

Salter said of the deal: "Bringing this to market has been a marathon effort all round. The novel auction approach provided a truly transparent and effective real-time platform for the sale process."

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