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2010 was a headline year for many project and finance teams in London. Increasing demand for fuel combined with regional unrest across the Middle East to push up oil prices, ensuring that conventional energy areas remained buoyant.

The news on the renewables side was less positive. The recession hit the public purse hard, resulting in less money being available to invest in new green schemes, and less attractive European feed-in-tariffs. This has injected a great deal of uncertainty into the market.It is too early to predict the effects of the Fukushima disaster on the UK’s nuclear renaissance. So far, the European response to the crisis has been mixed, with Germany’s response the most negative – the government temporarily shut down seven of its nuclear reactors – while others have reacted less stridently; Poland for example, continues to move forward in building its first reactor.

The strong appetite for infrastructure assets was evident through deals such as the auction sale of High Speed 1, the company that owns the Channel Tunnel Rail Link, which sold for approximately £2.1bn. However, commoditised PFI continues to fall further out of favour in the UK, leaving PFI teams to ship expertise further afield to maintain profitability. The export of more complex PPP products to Eastern Europe and the Middle East remains the mainstay of the top-tier practices.

In this chapter, weighting is given to the firms with the broadest coverage of each practice area, hence the tendency of full-service firms to head the tables. The Magic Circle continues to dominate; Linklaters LLP is the only firm in the top bracket of every area, although Allen & Overy LLP is stronger on the project finance side and tops the rankings for infrastructure, oil and gas, power, PFI and water.

The traditional finance specialists are not the only names dominating energy; leading regulated industry players such as CMS Cameron McKenna LLP and Herbert Smith LLP are also well represented, as are US project finance powerhouses such as White & Case LLP and Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy LLP.

Norton Rose LLP draws admiring glances for its market-leading renewables and mining practices, and is working to become the pre-eminent name for energy work. SNR Denton and Trowers & Hamlins LLP field strong Middle East practices, which work alongside London teams to offer excellent global coverage.

Outside of the major City firms, national specialists have seen their piece of the pie increase as projects become more standardised. Practices at Pinsent Masons LLP, Eversheds LLP and Addleshaw Goddard LLP all continue to rise in profile.

The focus of this chapter is on work carried out from London, although firms with exceptional regional practices with a national reputation are also covered. Office networks, whether national or international, are an important component of firms’ capability, with cross-office and cross-jurisdictional teams common on deals.

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