IFLR 1000
The Guide to the World's Leading Financial Law Firms

Though the project finance market in the Netherlands is relatively small compared to the UK or US markets, there is a lot of activity being planned.

Firms report a huge pipeline of projects under public-private partnership (PPP) agreements and DBFM (design-build-finance-maintain) contracts. €4.5 billion has been put aside by the government to develop a number of motorways connecting the national airport Schiphol to and from Amsterdam, Rotterdam and other major conurbations. The projects will include bridges, gas pipes, telegraph poles and other bits of infrastructure along motorway routes. There are five projects in total each with a budget of about €1 billion.

"The A1-A6 has already been launched and is at pre-qualification stage and there are three more coming, the A6-A9, with a budget of about €3.5 billion," says a peer: "they will keep the market busy, not just the tenders but also secondary work." "All the projects are moving very slowly, they are still at the structural phase and the lenders aren't yet on board, it will be even slower when the banks are on board, they will need to really do a lot of financing," says a partner. None of the projects will reach closure soon.

"The market has improved due to the attitude of the government, and investors are more eager to be involved, very positive attitude of government towards DBFM now that the benefits are more widely known, and with the budget deficit it is a good way to finance projects without increasing the deficit," says a partner, adding that "the old DBFM projects are all completed and have been a success story so far".

One of the key players in formulating and establishing PPPs in the country has been the European Investment Bank (EIB). Local partners hold the bank in high esteem and to a certain extent pin the success of projects on its involvement. "The EIB has played a great role in the Netherlands," says a partner, and "there will be uncertainty of funding if they are not involved".

On the private side, 99% of project finance is renewable energy related, especially with on and off-shore wind farms and solar energy, but also in biofuels. Lack of financing has been slowing the market however, with one partner noting it is "quieter; you do see effects of the credit crunch, less money being made available for financing, there is also a lot down to subsidies on renewable energy which have been cut so you see the number of projects dropping".

A new area is hospital financing, following changes in the legislation that mean hospitals must stand on their own two feet. "The hospital construction market is booming, it is a new market that wasn't there before," says a partner. "Hospital financing is quite new in the Netherlands," says another, "it isn't really project finance and not PPP, but the funding they need is impressive."

Partners are also expecting a lot of real estate work: "It is quiet but it is a huge asset class that you can't ignore, there is a huge wall of debt, something will happen, it has to break open," says one.

For many in the market Allen & Overy is a standard bearer in project finance. "They are the best in the field," says one client, "especially in renewable areas, they have all the individuals with the perfect track record, they are way ahead of the other firms in this respect". Renewables account for a vast majority of the private project financing in the country.

Another client adds that "clearly they are flawless on cross-border". Werner Runge and Zeeger de Jongh lead the firm's project finance expertise with support from Godfried Kinnegim and Bart Meesters.

In January 2011 the firm advised the lenders on the €84 million financing for the construction, maintenance and operation of a jetty and various reserve oil storage terminals in Eemshaven. The deal had added dimensions as it involved working with a state body (necessitating a raft of public law considerations) and because the oil reserves were of strategic national importance.

The firm also acted for PGGM on the formation of a joint-venture between PGGM, a pension fund, and BAM, a construction company, in order to develop existing and new public-private partnership (PPP) infrastructure projects totalling €390 million. The match-up is a novel way of financing projects. The firm was advising the consortium bidding for the €1 billion A15 road project.

A third deal saw the team advise ING Bank and ABN AMRO on €18 million of financing for the extension of the CO2 gas distribution network (OCAP/Bio-supply project). The carbon dioxide will be sold on to commercial farmers for use in greenhouses and is novel as it constitutes a whole new business area.

Clifford Chance keeps its position in the first tier. "Outstanding on the finance side," says one client, "and outstanding on PFI (private finance initiatives) and PPP (public-private partnerships), they know how to handle projects". One peer comments that "we see them often on PPP and on projects in renewables".

Compared to some of the leading firms, says a client, Clifford has "more experience in these areas and maybe they are better for more complex deals".

The team works often with the Brussels office under Bert de Maeyer and Lounia Czupper. Jaap Koster and counsels Wieke Hoge and Nanette Rutgers (the finance expert of the three) head most deals, with the support of finance partners Angela McEwan and Mark Huddlestone.

The firm is involved in a number of the many road PPP projects, advising one of the bidding consortia for the A11 road project in the half Dutch half Belgian city of Limburg, the lenders to another bidding group for the R4 road project, and the lenders (including the European Investment Bank - EIB) to Royal BAM Group on the Utrecht-Veenendaal stretch of the A12.

While tenders for road projects continue, the firm was also busy on two high profile once-off projects, advising Rotterdam World Gateway on a 1000 hectare land reclamation project (Maasvlakte II) for the Port of Rotterdam and acting for the financiers behind 33 'fibre-to-the-home' infrastructure projects through the Netherlands.

Much of the firm's work is on regional or Belgian deals and possibly the highest profile of these has Hoge and Koster, with Paris, London and Frankfurt teams, advising the lenders on the Dutch aspects of the €7 billion financing for the Nord Stream Gas Project, a major offshore Northern European gas pipeline.

NautaDutilh keeps its place in the project finance table in recognition of its standing in the market and expertise in public-private partnerships (PPP). The name at the firm is Rotterdam based Erik Geerling, while London partner Arjan Pors and associate Jaco Belder appear either alongside Geerling or in leading roles on many of the high profile deals.

"Good job, we will use them again for future projects, we were very satisfied with the people and if they were to move firms we would follow them, they focus on the real issues, good commercial sense, up to speed, pragmatic but also critical and reasonable". Another client points out that "they are one of the biggest firms and it was important to be able to get support with other issues such as the environment, planning and regulatory".

Nauta won a series of mandates on high profile PPPs from the most recognised project financier, the European Investment Bank (EIB). It is advising the bank on €150 million of financing for the design, construction and maintenance of expansion works on Utrecht - Veenendaal section of the A12 and on €500 million in financing for the A15, a 26 year DBFM contract to improve a 40 km stretch of road from the Rotterdam region and the city's port.

The team is also assisting a project consortium on a large residential housing project under PPP and on the private finance side. and in 2011 was busy acting as Dutch counsel to a consortium sponsors for the $350 million financing of the construction of a 1600MW independent power plant (IPP) in Shuweihat, in the UAE.

The Dutch office often works in close collaboration with its Brussels office, led by Didier de Vliegher.

Norton Rose moves up to the top section of the rankings. The firm's leading partners Wouter Hertzberger and Daphne Broerse have been "very successful in getting work" says one peer. Hertzberger in particular is recognised across the project finance market. "He is very pragmatic, pleasant and deal-making, and in my view he should be listed at the very top," says a leading projects partner.

"They are increasingly more involved," says one peer, "although they do rely quite heavily on London support". "Quite good, they are working on the A15 motorway, Hertzberger is a good lawyer, he knows how to keep people on board and has quite a lot of years of experience," says another peer.

Competitors note that the firm has had an active presence in the wind energy sector and that it is currently advising some of the sponsors on the lender side for the construction works on the A15 in and around Rotterdam.

Stibbe keeps its place in the second tier this year. The firm has very solid presence in projects; "still good and focussing," says one competitor, who adds that the firm has "a very strong team in Belgium as well".

The firm won a new client in 2010 in Macquarie, which Joop Janssen and David Orobio de Castro advised together with consortium partner Heijmans to build, design and operate a new tramline in the city of Groningen. The €300 million project has a DBFM(design-build-finance-maintain) / PFI (private finance iniative) structure and is a first in the Netherlands for this sort of inner-city project.

The pair was also advising on a project due to close next July 2012, acting for Arcadis, Heijmans and Rebel Group consortium to design, construct and run a new National Military Museum for €70 million.

Heijmans again turned to Janssen and Orobio de Castro for support on a DBFM project for a new Supreme Court building. In a fourth significant mandate, the pair again acted for Heijmans in consortium with DIF, Volker Wessels and Fluor for €840 million expansion works to the A15. The project has a 25 year DBFM agreement and is one of the biggest projects in the Netherlands.

The project finance team also counts on head of energy Martin In de Braekt plus finance head lawyers Jaap Willeumier. Peers note that Orobio de Castro "often works in real estate related projects".

Baker & McKenzie has recently begun developing a profile in the project finance market with the hire in March 2011 of Corinne Schot and a team of associates from Houthoff Buruma.

Schot has a larger profile on the structured finance and banking side though she has brought with her client Bank Nederlandse Germeente (BNG), which is 50% public owned and with its AAA rating an active lender in project finance. Along with associate Hans Schober, Schot has been busy advising NBG along with Rabobank on the restructuring of a €140 million project finance facility to Omrin in light of changes to new environmental rules. The pair won the mandate while at Houthoff.

De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek often acts on the public side on projects with the City of Amsterdam being one of its currently most active clients.

Menno Stoffer advised the City on the acquisition of 23 subway trains and train parts from Alstom in order to replace existing trains and was busy in mid-2011 on an on-going tender for signalling and control equipment. Bommel Van der Bend was also advising the City on the renegotiation of existing contracts to minimise financial risk.

Arguably one of the firm's headline deals has been the A12 motorway, in which Stoffer advised the European construction BAM, which is doing the expansion works, on the financing from the European Investment Bank (EIB) and others in an international syndicate.

A prestigious deal saw Van der Bend acting on a second tender attempt, after the first failed, for the Nuclear Research and Consultancy Group (NRG) in matters relating to the construction of a nuclear plant, including contracting, finance and procurement issues.

The firm had its fingers in a number of other pies, assisting Dutch Air Traffic Control on financing matters for the US lease of its air traffic control equipment and Electrabel in relation to investments in two global carbon funds, which it made to comply with EU emissions trading regulations. The firm has recently added some associates with projects expertise, namely Daniel Santurio Gonzales from Pels Rijken.

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer has a strong heritage in project finance and continues to advising some key clients in the field, namely Vopak. The now retired Jeroen Thijssen did much to forge the firm's reputation but there is a feeling in the market that the team has not replaced him and is running on past reputation.

Nevertheless, Thjissen continues to act as a consultant to the firm and partner Thijs Flokstra impresses clients in all walk of financing. "Very professionally handled," says one client, "what they did they did very well and they had the right people for support, with Flokstra overseeing. It was striking because the other side was all the time having to check with their superiors and created much delay, but Freshfields was very efficient". Another client adds that: "it is a small team but quick and efficient".

The firm is also rated for technical legal expertise on project finance by a client who also compliments it for its attitude: "what I like is that the people are not so aggressive, they do the work well and after that they are not demanding".

The firm also continues to win mandates on very substantial project financing transactions. One recent example in January 2011 saw Flokstra and Wouter Jongen advise Vopak on project financing for the construction of a gas terminal in Eemshaven, Groningen. In another notable deal, Flokstra advised Grondbezit AVI Moerdijk on the restructuring of a joint-venture operating four production lines of a waste incinerator and project financing from Bank Nederlandse Gemeenten.

Houthoff Buruma's market profile does not match its portfolio of current transactions. The firm has a specialised projects finance team led by Peter Habraken and in 2011 was involved in a number of bidding races for DBFM contracts and infrastructure projects, and on mandates from private companies on project financings.

Its public reputation has in recent years taken some knocks however, most significantly the departure of Jaap Koster to Clifford chance (not recent but still mentioned in the market) and in 2011 the loss of Corinne Schot and a team of associates to Baker & McKenzie. Competitors comment that the firm has a "low profile in the market" with "project financing as incidental rather than core". "They are big in construction and real estate," says a peer.

Nevertheless, Habraken and partners Jessica Terpstra and Andre de Neve have recently seen a number of interesting projects. The firm was advising Volker Wessels on a bid for a DBFM contract for the N33 motorway and in 2010 acted for OX 1 Leasing (part of the Sao Paolo listed OSX Brasil) on €420 million financing for a floating production, storage and offloading vessel (FPSO) to be leased to OGX Petroleo e Gas Participacoes.

The firm also acted for Facilicom, Sequoia and Volker Wessels on another bid for the DBFMO contract of a new prison in Zaanstad, Amsterdam, and Amarantis School Board on a DBFMO contract for three new school buildings in Noord Holland. In energy, the firm won a mandate from Van Oord Dredging and Marine Contractors on project financing for the Belwind offshore wind park.

Loyens & Loeff is another of the Dutch firm's that works closely with its Belgian project finance team, which is led by Marc Vermylen. According to market feedback, the firm does crop up on project financing under general finance partner Willem Jarigsma but not too often, especially when it comes to the world of public-private partnerships (PPP).

The firm is best known for its involvement on the corporate and tax side in energy and utility deals. Corporate partner Max Oosterhuis has a big name in energy, with one peer saying "he is the best I've ever known, he knows how a power plant works in detail".

Recent work has seen the team involved in wind projects in Belgium and the Netherlands.

Pels Rijcken & Droogleever Fortuijn earns its place in the rankings as it represents the government on almost all public-private partnership (PPP) projects. The firm organises the public tenders, lays out the terms of financing and the frameworks for the projects. It does not have the same sort of project finance profile as some of its peers but is nevertheless a major player in projects.

The firm is under some pressure, however, with the government's highway authorities and central government handling an increasing work load themselves.

Project finance is Van Doorne's strongest suit in the Dutch market. Property partner Mark Moolhuizen has a very good reputation among peers and leading practitioners. "Very active and very good - Mark is especially good," is one peer's verdict. Another says the firm handles "a lot of mid-sized deals, hospital financings and energy deals but lacks the international network so is not as present in public-private partnerships [PPP]".

Nevertheless, a PPP project features among the firm's most impressive mandates in 2010-2011, with Moolhuizen was advising the Municipality of Den Helder on an on-going PPP project for the development of a new city hall, the first DBFM contract with a local municipality.

In July 2010 the firm, led by Roel Botter and Moolhuizen, closed a €355 million hospital financing for Meander Medisch Centrum to build a new hospital. It was the third such financing in the Netherlands and the firm also acted for the borrower in the fourth financing in December 2010, advising Ziekenhuisgroep Twente on a €140 million refinancing for a hospital construction.

The firm is also involved in bids for the works on the N33 motorway and construction of a new National Defence Museum. In 2010 the firm also hired partner Jan-Willem Wiertsema from Boekel de Nerée.