Jonathan Croley > Ashfords LLP > Exeter, England > Lawyer Profile

Ashfords LLP
ASHFORD HOUSE
GRENADIER ROAD
EXETER
EX1 3LH
England
Jonathan  Croley photo

Work Department

Commercial

Position

Partner

Career

Jonathan is an Associate in the Construction & Infrastructure Team. Jonathan advises on contracts relating to infrastructure projects, including energy projects and broadband projects.

Jonathan advises clients on energy projects (particularly in anaerobic digestion and biomass projects) on operation and maintenance contracts and feedstock contracts on energy projects. Jonathan also prepares and negotiates the commercial agreements required in order to implement estate succession planning schemes, as well as other businesses within the agriculture sector on various commercial issues. More recently Jonathan has been involved in advising a sponsor in the development of a number of battery projects.

Jonathan also advises public sector projects, such as advising local authorities which are procuring superfast broadband projects for their rural areas, academy conversions, and advising on in-term issues in the PFI/PPP concessions and outsourcings.

Jonathan has particular experience in advising on projects in the operational phase, advising on structuring issues and providing solutions to issues within the existing contractual relationships.

RELEVANT EXPERIENCE

  •  Private companies: Advising the project companies on the maintenance, operation and feedstock provision for Anaerobic Digestion facilities sponsored by Ixora Energy Ltd and two funders. As at September July 2015, the projects are expected to produce c.18MW of energy (in terms of electricity production, gas exported to the national gas grid and thermal output) with a total capital value of c.£30 million.
  • AgriBank plc: Advising the funder in respect of the feedstock provision, digestate offtake, operation and maintenance agreements relating to an anaerobic digestion facility located at a turkey farm.
  • Pengelly Farm: Advising the landowner in respect of it obtaining of equity finance for its anaerobic digestion project in Cornwall, including advice on the associated feedstock provision and digestate offtake agreements and operation and maintenance agreement.
  • Mount Farm: Advising the landowner in respect of it obtaining of equity finance for its anaerobic digestion project in Northern Ireland, including advice on the associated feedstock provision and digestate offtake agreements and operation and maintenance agreement.
  • AWS Power Limited: Advising a sponsor on structuring a project relating to the roll-out of battery storage across a number of sites to serve a national supermarket.

Lawyer Rankings

South West > Projects, energy and natural resources > Energy, project finance and PFI

(Next Generation Partners)

Jonathan Croley Ashfords LLP

Following a concerted expansion strategy, the practice at Ashfords LLP has recently seen significant diversification and an increasing focus on a wide spread of projects work in both the renewable and traditional energy spaces; the hire of Carl Thompson, whose expertise lies in construction and infrastructure matters, from Osborne Clarke LLP in February 2022 is a key example of this. Brian Farrell oversees the offering, leveraging his commercial background to advise clients from both the public and private sectors. Jonathan Croley is another key contact on the commercial front. Stephen Humphreys is the name to note on the planning side, while Emma Warren leads on real estate-related mandates. Key recent areas of work have included advice on carbon credit, phosphate offsetting and biodiversity schemes, as well as decarbonisation and sustainability projects.