of the coveted Company category for Europe and Africa were announced this evening at the gala dinner for IJGlobal Awards 2022 hosted in The Peninsula London.

These awards were scrutinised – based on submissions from across the industry – by an independent panel of industry experts (recusals for conflicts), making the IJGlobal Awards what we believe to be the single most transparent and peer review in this sector.

The Transaction awards – the winner story for Africa can be accessed here, while the European winners can be found here – are chosen (again based on submissions) by the relevant members of the IJGlobal editorial team.

This year saw a particularly lively collection of submissions making the 2023 awards one of the most heftily competed of all times, made all the better by submitters seeming to have cottoned on to these being for greenfield and refinance… instead of M&A and purely ESG, which are dealt with by other events.

The winners, most of whom were announced tonight, are:

• Sponsor of the Year, Europe – Engie
• Sponsor of the Year, Africa – Africa GreenCo / GreenCo Power Services Limited
• MLA of the Year, Europe & Africa – Societe Generale
• DFI of the Year – EBRD / Arcadis – Natural Capital Valuation
• Financial Adviser of the Year, Europe – Societe Generale
• Financial Adviser of the Year, Africa – Infrastructure Development Company Limited
• Financial Adviser of the Year, Energy Transition – Green Giraffe Advisory
• Financial Adviser of the Year, Restructure – Bluefield Partners
• Legal Adviser of the Year, Europe – Allen & Overy
• Legal Adviser of the Year, Africa – White & Case
• Technical Adviser of the Year, Europe & Africa – Arup
• Ratings Agency of the Year, Europe & Africa – Moody's Investors Service
• Corporate Trust Provider – Deutsche Bank
• Model Auditor of the Year – BDO

Sponsor of the Year, Europe

Engie

The 2023 calendar year proved to be an outstanding one for Engie, demonstrating its capacity to originate, develop, structure and finance utility-scale energy infrastructure projects across multiple asset classes and technologies.

The independent panel of judges was impressed by the Engie submission, with one lauding “good examples with different structuring issues and innovation”.

Another of the judges said: “This submission from Engie delves into the structuring and funding of a number of complex projects in the sector with innovative features reducing reliance on government participation and unlocking sources of liquidity – which is likely to have wide-ranging impact on the sector.”

Yet another said: “Engie has shown tenacity in a difficult economic environment to close some landmark transactions. Moray is a first of its kind and will possibly serve as a template for future hybrid deals in the market.”

Judging comments were rounded off with: “Engie demonstrated some degree of innovation / first-mover status via Goya and Moray West PPAs.”

Engie has excelled in offshore wind – a cornerstone of its growth in renewables with more than €9 billion (including EBLs) closed across 3 flagship projects (at the time of submission) – all of which were significantly oversubscribed.

Engie played a lead role in delivering solutions supporting a faster energy transition, following the success of the Eoliennes Flottantes du Golf du Lion (EFGL), the French floating offshore wind project that closed in 2022.

This deal set up Engie well for 2023 having closed a first-of-its-kind financing in a fledgling asset class, with an innovative risk allocation to deal with the challenges of implementing a complex project and involved non-recourse debt financing from commercial banks (another first), alongside ADEME grants to make the project bankable.

From the judging period, Engie points to Moray West OWF another first-of-its-kind in the UK offshore wind market, relying in majority on corporate PPAs for the commercialisation of its output instead of subsidies, the life blood of most clean energy projects around the world.

Engie has an overarching role in the transaction as originator of the CPPAs at the core of the project business plan. Once the CPPAs were in place, the project was able to optimise the capital structure, with a project financing package of £2 billion provided by a consortium of 19 commercial banks and an Eksfin-covered tranche.

Sticking with offshore wind, and back in France, Engie cites the Dieppe-Le Tréport and Yeu-Noirmoutier offshore wind farms (LEMS) that were awarded CfDs in 2014 and reached financial close in 2023.

After concluding all legal battles, LEMS signed the €5.3 billion project finance with a club of 16 banks and JBIC, marking the first involvement of the ECA in a French non-recourse project financing.

The financing showcases a high debt to equity ratio on the back of a robust structure: a 20-year PPA with EDF, no merchant risk and a well-established multi-contracting procurement structure.

Sponsor of the Year, Africa

Africa GreenCo / GreenCo Power Services Limited

Africa GreenCo alongside GreenCo Power Services Limited were chosen by the independent panel of judges to win the sponsor award for Africa, won over by a compelling submission that identified an interesting range of market activity.

GreenCo – through its operating entities in Sub-Saharan Africa – acts as an intermediary and creditworthy offtaker and trader, purchasing power from renewable IPPs and on-selling that electricity to utilities and private sector offtakers, and markets of the Southern African Power Pool (SAPP).

It mitigates the risk of purchaser default through an ability to secure alternative buyers or through short-term trading on the SAPP electricity markets, described by one judge as “performing a valuable, impactful and innovative role in region”.

One judge said: “They scored high based on the level of complexity and innovation across the business and the potential to unlock clean energy in a very difficult geography… but one that needs to make progress.”

The judges were particularly impressed by the innovative PPA signed in Zambia on the Ilute solar PV plant, a ground-breaking 25MW facility in Sesheke, Western Province, that represents a pivotal advancement in the nation's renewable energy sector.

In an unprecedented structure for the Southern African Development Community (SADC), GreenCo will buy all the power generated by Ilute – a partnership between Western Solar Power and Serengeti Energy.

This project highlights GreenCo's innovative business model aimed at stimulating investment into the renewable energy market.

It is the first greenfield PPA in Zambia since 2016 and it is the first with a private offtaker. It also stands as the first power plant in Southern Africa developed with a merchant market structure, selling energy to the SAPP competitive markets.

GreenCo has also become the first energy trader to join the Southern African Power Pool, able to buy and sell power across the region through SAPP’s competitive markets.

There are certain requirements and conditions to become a member of SAPP, and there are many small IPPs and larger offtakers in South Africa that do not possess the ability (nor the economies of scale) to invest in full SAPP membership and to maintain their own trading teams.

Historically, the SAPP was exclusive to utilities and asset-owning entities, until the redefinition of membership categories also to consider non-asset-owning entities – GreenCo was the first to join under such conditions.

MLA of the Year, Europe & Africa

Societe Generale

The 1.1GW Baltic Power Offshore Wind Farm played a strong part in winning Societe Generale the lender’s award for Europe and Africa with all of the judges agreeing that it had served as a landmark transaction, a feather in the cap for all involved.

In a world where such projects are being viewed as “just another offshore wind farm”, it takes a lot to impress with deals of this nature in a sector that such a short time ago was labelled “fledgling”.

SocGen went all out to impress with its submission, identifying numerous OWF deals it has brought to financial close over the judging period – from Baltic Power through to Moray West, Le Treport- Noirmoutier and Iles d’Yey Noirmoutier projects and the Sant Nazaire refi.

And the submission had the desired effect on judges with one recognising involvement across a “good spread of greenfield, sector, and geographies with innovation and impact apparent”.

One of the judges said: “The examples cited in support of SG's entry demonstrate unique breadth of coverage across Europe in terms of size, scale and complexity of transaction. The support of battery manufacturing as a decarbonisation lever despite market uncertainties is worthy of recognition.”

Another of the judges lauded the award submission recognising that it “showed what Societe Generale contributed to the deal”, adding that the Baltic deal had “significant impact in Poland”.

On Baltic, Societe Generale acted as MLA, lender, hedge and deal contingent hedge provider in the €4.4 billion project financing to deliver a 1.14GW offshore wind farm located around 23km north of the Polish coastline in the Baltic Sea.

The sponsors are ORLEN, the largest multi-utility conglomerate in Central Europe, with 51% and Northland Power owning 49%. It is the most advanced OWF in Poland and it spearheads the development of this nascent industry in the country.

Baltic Power is the largest project financing in Poland to date with an overall budget estimated at about €4.73 billion.

It is also one of the largest offshore wind farm projects in Europe and, on completion in 2026, Baltic will power more than 1.5 million households, dramatically shifting Polan’s energy mix.

In its submission, SG also cites the Polski Swiatlowod Otwarty additional facility that closed in May and follows on from the 2022 acquisition by InfraVia of a 50% stake in a newly incorporated vehicle (PSO) from Play (iliad Group’s entity in Poland).

PSO will support hybrid brownfield and greenfield FttH roll-outs and now operates as an open access fibre network wholesale platform, with the objective to cover more than 6 million households across Poland.

The financing consists of a PLN 5.1 billion 7-year debt package with participation from the European Investment Bank (EIB). This non-recourse financing was fully underwritten by SG and a group of relationship banks, and syndicated to Polish banks and institutional lenders.

SG also singles out the €1.7 billion refi of Idex where the French bank was underwriter alongside a group of Tier 1 lenders allowing it to sustain its growth trajectory through a dedicated financing line for investments, combined with a commitment for an additional tranche of available credit.

DFI of the Year

EBRD / Arcadis – Natural Capital Valuation

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development has been singled out for honours based on a submission from Arcadis – primarily to recognise its Approach to Nature.

Under the aegis of the EBRD, Arcadis and IDEEA Group developed the Natural Capital Valuation (NCV) model to provide stakeholders with the means to include financing and nature conservancy in decisions.

The model identifies and values nature-related risks at a landscape scale, to identify and prioritise nature positive investments and assess/improve a project’s nature performance.

As a natural capital risk assessment tool, the model provides quantitative and monetary information on the current (baseline) and evolving (business as usual scenario and sustainable scenario) state of nature and related risks and opportunities for nature, communities, businesses and investors.

The case study of the work completed for EBRD on the greenfield Syr Darya Wastewater Treatment Plant in Uzbekistan is provided as evidence of how this new tool can be applied.

The NCV model developed for EBRD provides a flexible tool to understand the impact of investments and dependencies on nature, as well as their nature-related risks/opportunities with greater transparency by presenting information as natural capital risk heat maps and investment opportunity tables.

As a tool it identifies, prioritises, and substantiates nature related risks and investment opportunities translating them into economic terms using a standardised framework.

It is a tool applicable across landscapes and sectors as well as cross border landscapes. Arcadis has trialled the NCV model on behalf of EBRD to assess the value of nature and the services to on a wide variety of projects, landscapes globally and covering different sectors demonstrating its applicability.

The model has been applied to a regional solid waste management facility in Serbia; Red Sea tourism in Egypt; assessment and optimisation of urban planning in China; river management and agriculture issues related to the Aral Sea, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan; sustainable development of the Issyk-Kul Lake, covering tourism, agriculture and fisheries, Kyrgyzstan.

The model has allowed EBRD to identify investment opportunities, rank them according to their positive impacts on nature, economy, and UN Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) indicators.

As a tool the NCV allows Arcadis to provide a unique and important perspective on investments and provide critical transparency on the impact and sustainability of investments.

Though developed for DFIs, it has significant potential applicability for private investors, funds and banks well as investment portfolios.

One of the judges said: “I think this submission shows Arcadis leading the field and the NCV has implications and uses beyond those for which it was created. This work sets Arcadis apart and sets new market standards for affording a monetary value to biodiversity and thus a way to incorporate biodiversity into a positive return profile.”

Another judge said: “The NCV tool seems like a pretty comprehensive tool with broad application and meaningful results in moving the ball forward in terms of transparency and risk management. It seems like the specific uses of the model show it is being effective.”

Comments were rounded off with: “This is an interesting and innovative tool for evaluating investments from a wider impact on nature. This is likely to be increasingly important as institutions take a more holistic view of activities and it seems to be something that meets criteria of innovation, impact and creating a standard.”

Financial Adviser of the Year, Europe

Societe Generale

The overall financial advisory award for Europe was won by Societe Generale for having displayed an impressive spread of transactions closed over the course of the judging period, winning over one of the panel with an “excellent submission with high quality examples”.

One of the judges said: “Societe Generale keeps itself relevant within the core infra market and TMT while remaining nimble enough to pursue smaller mandates that will set it up well in the future, such as CCS and hydrogen.”

The French bank was lauded for working on “large and complex deals to support the energy transition” with another adding: “SG is always a solid greenfield adviser.”

Judging comments were rounded off with: “Societe Generale submitted a comprehensive submission and a strong deal list across a number of subsectors, including innovation around new subsectors like H2 Green Steel.”

One of the key deals the French bank acted as financial adviser on was the 9GWh AESC gigafactory in Douai, Frace, which closed in October.

This project will supply NMC batteries for the Renault 5 and 4ever EV models and is strategic for AESC and Renault as well as serving as a cornerstone for “Battery Valley” in the Hauts de France region.

The project financing includes direct loans and funding from EIB; Bpifrance Assurance Export (BPI) via a Garantie des Projets Stratégiques (GPS); Sinosure via a tied guarantee; Banque des Territoires with a second lien facility; a standby facility, a working capital facility and a VAT facility.

This was a landmark transaction as the first gigafactory project finance in France to have achieved financial close; the first PF structure with a French OEM (Renault) acting as offtaker; and it was BPI’s second, but largest, GPS to date.

SocGen also acted as financial adviser – MLA, underwriter and hedge provider – on the €4.6 billion financing of OXG Glasfaser. Up to €7 billion is expected to be invested during the expansion phase which will be partly financed by the debt package to accelerate the future of the FttH network in Germany.

Vodafone in October 2022 announced its JV with leading global telecom group Altice (OXG Glasfaser) to deploy FttH in Germany to some 7 million homes over the following 6 years.

The financing is split across committed capex and revolving lines plus an accordion. The original financing was underwritten by 7 banks and closing of syndication was achieved in May.

This transaction represents the second largest executed in Germany after Deutsche Glasfaser and one of the largest financings in Europe to date, demonstrating lender appetite for this type of telecom infrastructure asset.

In the offshore wind sector, SG was sole financial adviser on Dieppe-Le Tréport and Yeu-Noirmoutier offshore wind farms, having been mandated from the early bid phase back in 2013 and stayed the course through its numerous development phases.

SG contributed significantly to the development of the French regulatory framework applicable to offshore wind projects and to ensuring the bankability of the power purchase agreement.

In short, SocGen designed and adjusted the financing structure and funding strategy as the offshore wind industry evolved, in the absence of existing precedents in France.

Financial Adviser of the Year, Africa

Infrastructure Development Company Limited

The IJGlobal Awards judging panel singled out Infrastructure Development Company Limited (IDCOL) to win the financial advisory trophy for Africa.

IDCOL assisted the energy ministry of Malawi as the fund manager of the Malawi Off-Grid Market Development Fund (OGMDF) to develop the solar market.

To solve the difficulties of expanding the off-grid market, IDCOL operationalised the $20 million financing window by providing debt financing as working capital assistance, grant facilities to give end-user subsidies and Market Catalyst Fund to promote local businesses.

IDCOL guided the consortium and provided full support from preparation of the project operations manual (POM) to project execution, addressing challenges of the national off grid solar (OGS) industry by providing financing through a debt window to provide working capital, an RBF grant window and a technical assistance window.

A market catalyst fund (MCF) of $500,000 was created from the RBF grant to support market-based transformative solutions to scale up energy access by engaging the local off-grid solar companies in Malawi.

MCF harnessed innovative business models, solutions, resources, experiences, and networks of relationships that exist across stakeholders. It encouraged the development of new business models that enable the increased adoption of off-grid solar solutions, especially in remote and underserved areas.

The RBF grant ensured electricity access in the off-grid regions of Malawi by providing an end-user subsidy to improve the affordability of SHS. It grant was passed on to beneficiary households by the partner organisations and used to reduce end-user pricing.

One of the judges said: “IDCOL has been advising on projects that seem to be having a real impact, through risk profile or sub sector, in more economically challenging countries.”

Another judge said: “Local business support and a broad breadth of counterparties in complex markets… it’s rare that one can say that and provide demonstrable accretion to the lives of local communities.”

Approval of the IDCOL submission was rounded off with praise for it “delivering innovative solutions in hard to finance markets across diverse sectors”.

Financial Adviser of the Year, Energy Transition

Green Giraffe Advisory

The role played by Green Giraffe Advisory in supporting energy transition across Europe was recognised by the IJGlobal Awards judging panel with one saying it is a “super impressive firm”.

Another judge added: “Green Giraffe has captured its niche and is expanding that with the demands of the market.”

Yet another judge said: “Green Giraffe should be recognised for having worked on the first offshore wind deal in Poland as well as having worked on green hydrogen. This has been a significant year for the Green Giraffe platform across debt and M&A transactions.”

Green Giraffe Advisory has a reputation, built over the last decade, for entrepreneurial and innovative finance solutions for capital intensive renewables projects and energy transition initiatives.

Being an independent advisory firm allows it to utilise innovative financial structuring and achieve competitive pricing for its clients.

The submission states: “Our long-term relationships – a significant part of our business sourced from top 10 clients – enable us to stay close and deliver tailored solutions for clients’ financing needs.

“This is demonstrated in the recent debt financing we closed for Baltic Power wind project. In the backdrop of a challenging macro environment – interest rates, inflation – we delivered a competitive, comprehensive debt package of €4.4 billion for the project.”

Green Giraffe has pioneered riskier, early-stage transactions and new technologies. It is at the forefront of the energy transition and goes beyond what is typical for a financial adviser in supporting the bankability of riskier projects and new technologies alongside clients.

Financial Adviser of the Year, Restructure

Bluefield Partners

The judges were so taken with the submission by Bluefield Partners that they decided to strip out a sub-category of financial advisory to grant it an award.

One of the judges said of the organisation: “Bluefield demonstrates a wide range of expertise across ESG, engineering and financial advisory, which is an interesting proposition but helpful in a market which is consolidating.”

Another added: “Bluefield has displayed an innovative approach to what will become an increasing issue – reuse is better than recycle, as they say – and extending the useful and economic life of solar assets, which is a huge climate friendly opportunity.”

Bluefield focuses on underperforming, subscale, ageing or distressed solar assets, a business area that presents untapped potential for accelerating the drive toward sustainable power and energy transition.

As renewable plants age their performance degrades and their fault rates increase. Bluefield recognised the investment opportunity in underperforming – yet high-potential – infrastructure and utilises new technologies to repair and enhance asset productivity.

The Revive Strategy is focused on revitalising and enhancing distressed and/or ageing solar energy infrastructure in Italy. Bluefield’s end-to-end value chain facilitates comprehensive, integrated and in-depth due diligence processes, identifying favourable investment opportunities to enhance, optimise and extend the operating life of renewable infrastructure while conserving finite resources – to ultimately preserve and increase domestic energy generation.

Via Revive’s strategy of repowering, optimising, and upgrading end-of-life assets, Bluefield aims to achieve the following impacts:

• optimise solar assets’ clean energy output up to around 45%
• extend solar assets’ lifecycles up to about 40 years
• help avoid some 22.5k tonnes of unnecessary carbon emissions

Through Revive, Bluefield has successfully fulfilled clients’ needs for an impact investing strategy by implementing an innovative renewable solution.

Revive proves how sustainable impact and investment returns can coexist by harnessing and renewing underperforming, subscale, and sometimes distressed renewable infrastructure to drive positive change and accelerate the energy transition.

Legal Adviser of the Year, Europe

Allen & Overy

The performance of Allen & Overy over the course of the judging period won over the independent panel with one describing the law firm as “an outstanding player in the European infra theatre”.

Another judge was particularly impressed by the firm’s deployment of artificial intelligence: “Allen & Overy has displayed clear innovation with Harvey. Beyond that, it has multiple examples of best-in-class transactions with complexity overcome and innovation generated.”

One more said: “The Harvey AI platform combined with an extensive and diverse list of transactions – including cutting-edge technologies – demonstrate a cut-above performance and impact in the market.”

Yet another added: “A&O has worked on some really interesting transactions that could make a real difference to the planet – notably the green steel project in Sweden.”

Comments were rounded off with: “Allen & Overy has clearly worked on complex, market-leading deals requiring an innovative approach and deep subject matter knowledge. Further, it is leading the way with AI deployment.”

Allen & Overy in its submission said it was the first to integrate Harvey, an AI platform built on a version of Open AI’s latest models (GPT-4) enhanced for legal work, into its global practice.

Harvey uses natural language processing, machine learning and data analytics to automate and enhance various aspects of legal work, such as contract analysis, due diligence, litigation and regulatory compliance.

The submission states: “A prevalent theme for A&O in the last 12 months has been supporting our clients on their decarbonisation journey, transitioning toward renewables and net zero investments.

“Notably, we advised Carlyle Group and GIC on their investment in Eneus Energy, a developer of green ammonia and green hydrogen projects in the UK and US. This was complex, first-of-a-kind work as we advised on all aspects of the investment and full scope due diligence of the Eneus green ammonia project pipeline.

“In the renewables sector, we advised on some of the largest deals, including on the €2.3 billion refinancing of the Finerge portfolio of 1.6GW of existing onshore wind and solar operations in Portugal and Spain.”

Legal Adviser of the Year, Africa

White & Case

An established player in legal advisory for infrastructure and energy across Africa, White & Case was singled out for honours by the judging panel having shown “good examples and firsts with deals that show impact”.

One of the judges said: “White & Case has achieved significant success in African infrastructure having acted on notable and challenging transactions. It is clearly a key player in the continent – in the vanguard for infrastructure and energy.”

Yet another judge said: “White & Case has clearly had stand-out impact across the region. The firm is notable for having penetration in 53 of the 54 African countries and involvement in very significant and impactful infrastructure transactions in the region… especially Project East2West.”

On Africa50’s Project East2West, the White & Case team advised on a project specifically aimed at tackling poor connectivity in East Africa and bridging the digital divide across 10 countries.

The submission states: “This is one of a number of our projects we are working on to improve critical social infrastructure across Africa. The complexities centred around multi-sourced financing from both public sector capital and private sector funding as well as negotiating several commercial contracts across those countries benefiting from this new fibre optic network.

“The outcome is a substantial improvement in data traffic for internet service providers, mobile network operators and hyperscalers operating in these countries. It will also bridge the bottlenecks in global internet traffic going in and out of Africa.”

White & Case also supported digital infrastructure in South Africa having worked on a syndicated transaction involving the raise of ZAR 900 million to support the Eastern Cape Fibre Project.

Eastern Cape is one of the poorest provinces in South Africa and this project will significantly enrich the lives of local communities by improving access to educational platforms, digital opportunities, increased traction in the employment market and the bolstering of the economy through increased digital connectivity.

The submission stated: “Our Africa practice also built on its previous experience within road and rail. We successfully advised on the upgrade of Africa’s oldest motorway PPP in Senegal and the €1.99 billion Euler Hermes-guaranteed financing for the development of the Green Line of the new Egyptian High Speed Rail network connecting the Mediterranean and Red Sea governorates of Egypt.”

Technical Adviser of the Year, Europe & Africa

Arup

One of the regular judges summed up the mood music at Judgment Day saying: “This is a strong entry from Arup… as always. It has been involved in some key, new and exciting projects.”

Another judge said: “Arup has provided clear evidence of its contribution to market, shaping large and very complex projects in the case of both HyGen and E10. Its multi-disciplinary focus in the PowerField example shows breadth of capability.”

Yet another judge recognised Arup for providing “broad subject matter experts and apparent innovation in technical advisory. The role it plays on a global scale, never mind just Europe and Africa, is always impressive”.

In its submission, Arup singled out pathfinder projects like H2 Green Steel and Norway’s E10 road as key examples of its leadership. And going by what the judges had to say, it was right to lead with these 2 stellar transactions.

On the H2 Green Steel deal, Hy24 co-led an investment of €1.5 billion in equity. The proceeds of the investment will finance the construction and development of a flagship large-scale green steel plant in Boden, Sweden. Arup provided technical and market advice for Hy24 as part of the equity raise.

The submission states: “Arup’s scope of work included a detailed technology review as well as a critique of the delivery strategy, schedule, and contracting approach. Given the size and complexity of delivering a project of this scale, Arup leveraged its internal project delivery experience to review and comment on H2GS's proposed approach and drive deep insight into the unique complexities of project delivery at this scale.

“In addition to the technical review, Arup commented on the end market use cases as well as the key regulatory drivers of green steel. Together, the technical and commercial review has been combined to provide a holistic view on the long-term business case for the project.”

On the E10 Tjeldsund-Langvassbukt road project, Arup acted as lender technical and environmental adviser, playing a crucial role in ensuring that the project met the stringent standards for approval and funding.

The submission states: “We built an international team spanning 5 cities, which married global expertise with deep local insight. We conducted thorough assessments, evaluating the project's technical feasibility and environmental impact, providing insightful recommendations that mitigated risks and aligned with sustainable practices. This rigorous analysis reassured lenders and bolstered investor confidence, laying the groundwork for a robust financial structure.”

Ratings Agency of the Year, Europe & Africa

Moody's Investors Service

Moody’s was recognised by the independent panel of judges for its achievements across Africa and Europe with one citing it for having “interesting examples in respect of ESG in ratings, impact of DFC wrap and assessment of nuclear power station operational risk”.

Voting fell strongly in the rater’s favour with one saying it had focused on “good examples and shown the depth of the market that Moody's covers” and another adding: “Moody’s has been responsible for some useful developments in cyber security and ESG assessment and grading.”

Yet another judge said: “Moody’s credit impact scoring method for ESG and 2022 cyber heat map are 2 clear examples of innovation in sector.”

The Moody’s submission states: “Our 2022 cyber heat map points to rising risks for many sectors, while mitigation and other defensive measures are also becoming more prevalent. We rank ordered the cyber risk exposure of 71 global sectors based on a scale of low, moderate, high or very high risk.

“Utilities, which include regulated and self-regulated electric utilities with generation, electric and gas transmission and distribution utilities, unregulated electric utilities and power companies and water and wastewater utilities, are scored as having very high cyber risk exposure.

“Our ESG scores provide greater transparency about how we incorporate ESG considerations into credit ratings. Credit impact score (CIS) is an output of the rating process that indicates the extent, if any, to which ESG factors impact the rating of an issuer or transaction.

“Issuer profile scores (IPS) are issuer-specific scores that assess an entity’s exposure to the categories of risks in the ESG classification from a credit perspective. As of 6 December 2023, 968 infrastructure and project finance issuers have been assigned CIS and IPS, bringing transparency to the effect of ESG risk factors on ratings.”

Corporate Trust Provider

Deutsche Bank

Deutsche Bank was chosen by the panel to win the Corporate Trust Provider Award with one admiring “innovation in E&S and AI, a huge deal portfolio and significant impact”.

Another of the judges said: “Deutche has put forward a strong and comprehensive submission. The examples illustrate innovation or stretch roles in this field through newer sectors or newer reporting requirements, helpfully they note the ESG and climate change reporting.”

Yet another said: “Deutsche Bank’s E&S agency role shows clear innovation in field. Added to that is a good range of services demonstrated through case studies together with technical innovation – AI – and escrow direct and paying agency portal in the US and EMEA.”

Judging comments are rounded off with: “The E&S/ESG element to Deutsche’s activity shows a level of innovation and complexity that was not demonstrated by other submissions. The complexity of cross-border deals is evident.”

One of the transactions Deutsche highlights in its submission is West Burton B (which wins a transaction award) where it acted as facility agent and security agent on the £350 million refinance of its 1,332MW CCGT and 49MW battery energy storage system (BESS) in the UK.

WBE is owned by funds managed by EIG and the transaction comprises a 7-year amortising term loan of £204 million, credit facilities of £110 million to support operational requirements and a £36 million debt service reserve facility.

The refi package is underpinned by contracted revenues from the UK’s capacity market, new trading arrangements with EDF Energy and a tolling arrangement with Shell Energy Europe for part of the CCGT’s generating capacity.

The proceeds of the refi will be used to repay the remaining debt which was put in place when EIG acquired WBE to pay a dividend. They will also be used to fund opportunities to grow WBE's flexible generation and storage platform.

Model Auditor of the Year

BDO

The vital role of model audit is this year being celebrated with an award presented to BDO for having – as one judge put it – provided “solid, reliable service delivery”.

Another judge pointed out that BDO had achieved a “range of deals and some innovation – which is not easy for a model auditor”.

The judging comments were rounded off with: “BDO has worked on deals across a diverse range of sectors and supported projects, demonstrating versatility and wide impact. BDO’s focus on continued sector knowledge and development of in-house diagnostics expertise particularly stand out.”

According to the submission: “As new sectors are developed and new types of project become bankable, we have ensured that we keep up to date with developments, technology and risks so that we can effectively support such projects… for example developing extensive experience of the tariff components for such projects or RAB regimes.

“This is particularly relevant as we combine a ‘top down’ analytical approach with elements of re-performance, focused on key sector and project-specific risk areas, with a comprehensive all-cells ‘bottom up’ review of large complex models supporting large complex transactions.

“We have developed in-house diagnostics which enable us to examine and interrogate model changes and updates expediting our turnaround and relaying issues pre-bid and financial close in a timely manner.

“For a major Europeans renewables portfolio we were able to develop and apply a range of bespoke comparative analysis across each of the elements of the portfolio which not only significantly reduced the timelines but also realised substantive costs savings for the project sponsor.”

It continues: “In this regard by investing in ‘sector’ champions, best of breed diagnostic software, ongoing training and knowing our client banks and sponsors, we believe that our comprehensive and bespoke methodology sets us apart from others offering model audit services, and allows us to deliver a premium service with maximum assurance.

“We use dedicated sector leads to keep abreast of sectors, and share the knowledge with the team through regular technical briefings.”