Tokyo Century Corporation: Investment in UK Solar & Wind Projects
Nishimura & Asahi advised Tokyo Century Corporation [TSE: 8439] on an agreement with asset management funds operated by Octopus Energy Generation, part of global energy company Octopus Energy Group, to co-invest in operating solar and onshore wind power plants in the UK.
The team was led by Tokyo partner Adrian Joyce, with support from Tokyo counsel Kyle Johnson, Tokyo associates Zehra Taylor Gencer, Lily Shen, Rachel Tang, Wenyue Sheng, Masayo Ono, and London partner Timothy Merchant.
This is one of a number of cross-border renewables investments Nishimura & Asahi has advised Tokyo Century Corporation on and which includes Tokyo Century Corporation’s 2024 co-investment with Schroders Greencoat in the £700m Toucan Energy portfolio in the UK which Adrian and his team also advised on.
People
He advises on a wide range of M&A transactions, including acquisitions, disposals, co-investments, minority investments, complex joint ventures and general corporate matters, regularly representing financial sponsors, Japanese and international investors, and other financial institutions across a range of sectors.
*Legal advice in the UK is provided under the name of Nishimura & Asahi UK Limited, a legal entity independent from, and a subsidiary of, Nishimura & Asahi (Gaikokuho Kyodo Jigyo). Neither Nishimura & Asahi (Gaikokuho Kyodo Jigyo) or Nishimura & Asahi UK Limited is authorised by the SRA, and none of Nishimura & Asahi (Gaikokuho Kyodo Jigyo), Nishimura & Asahi UK Limited or Timothy Merchant will undertake any reserved legal activity as defined in the United Kingdom Legal Services Act 2007.
Adrian has considerable experience advising lenders, sponsors and ECAs on energy, transportation and infrastructure in, Japan, APAC, the Americas, Europe, Middle East and Africa. He is recognised as a market leader for project finance and asset finance and regularly advises Japanese and international clients on the development and financing of cross-border energy, infrastructure and transportation projects. Highly regarded for his commercial acumen, Adrian is recognised in Chambers Global and Chambers APAC for “Projects & Energy: International” and “Banking & Finance: International Asset Finance” and in The Legal 500 for "Projects and Finance”, “Shipping” and “Banking and Finance” for which he is ranked as a “Leading Individual”. Recent experience includes advising sponsors and lenders on: • LNG: a large number of LNG vessel financings (20 vessels since 2020), SPAs and joint ventures; • Infrastructure: projects including five subsea cable financings in APAC and the Americas and two infrastructure projects in Japan; • Renewables: greenfield projects and project sales in Japan and APAC including solar, wind and waste to energy. • Asset finance: debt finance, restructurings, SLB, ESG and JOLCOs in the shipping and aviation sectors. Adrian attended the University of Tokyo and University of Waseda and speaks and reads Japanese.