About Nicholas Adkins
Nick advises on a wide range of financing transactions, with his main areas of practice being project finance (including infrastructure and PPPs), acquisition finance, corporate finance and restructuring / distressed debt transactions.
Nick has been recognised as a leading lawyer in several legal directories, including Chambers & Partners, Doyle's Guide - Leading Banking & Finance Lawyers NSW and Best Lawyers in Australia (including being voted by his peers as “Lawyer of the Year” in Project Finance and Development Practice in Sydney for 2023-2024).
He is a regular author and presenter, including at the Banking and Financial Services Law Association Conference, as a facilitator of the APLMA documentation training courses and as a lecturer for the Sydney University Faculty of Law course 'Advanced Financing Techniques'. Nick is also the co-author of the Lexis-Nexis sustainable finance guide.
Some of the notable transactions he's advised on across a range of sectors are outlined below.
Project and infrastructure finance
Social infrastructure
- Sydney Light Rail Project
- New Royal Adelaide Hospital Project
- Circular Quay Redevelopment Project
- Sunshine Coast University Hospital Project
- bids for the NSW Social and Affordable Housing Project and the Victorian Public Housing Renewal Program
- numerous other PPP bids such as Footscray Hospital, Cross River Rail, SA Courts, Queensland Schools II, Gold Coast Rapid Transit and Peninsula Link Road
- numerous student accommodation projects (including at University of Melbourne, Edith Cowan University, UNSW, UWS, Macquarie University and Murdoch University).
Economic infrastructure
- Queens Wharf Brisbane Integrated Resort Development
- Wiggins Island Coal Export Terminal
- Brisbane Airport and Sydney Airport
- Newcastle Coal Infrastructure Group
- Port Kembla Coal Terminal
Energy
- NSW Central West Orana Renewable Energy Zone (transmission infrastructure)
- Yarranlea Solar Farm
- Defence NT Solar Project
- Sunraysia Solar Farm
- Eco Energy World renewables portfolio
- Worsley Cogeneration Plant
- Mackay Sugar Cogeneration Plant
Mining, oil & gas
- Pluto Gas Train 2 Project (bid)
- Phu Kham Copper-Gold Project
- Kanmantoo Copper-Gold Project
- Tui Oil Project and Kupe Gas Project
- Avebury Nickel Project
Other sectors
- Seafarms Group's 'Project Sea Dragon' prawn farm development
- A$50 billion Attack Class Submarine Program
Acquisition financing and privatisations
- privatisations of the NSW Land Registry Services, SERV (formerly called Land Use Victoria) and the Port of Brisbane
- privatisations of the Victorian Motor Registry, Port of Newcastle, SA Land Titles and NSW Lotteries (bids)
- financing of Providence Equity Partners' acquisition of Study Group
- numerous mid-market leverage financings such as iseek Communications, LBNCo and Jeminex Group
- financing for Energy Infrastructure Investments and GDI Allgas Gas Network (sold out of the APA Group)
- financing of bids for the Optus Mobile Towers business and Pluto LNG Train 2
Corporate financing
Nick also advises on numerous corporate finance transactions, particularly across the agribusiness, food, infrastructure and energy sectors, including for several ASX listed clients (or their lenders) such as Blackmores, Collins Foods Group and Ricegrowers Limited. He has significant experience with ESG and sustainability-linked corporate finance transactions (as well as green and social loans in the project finance area).
Restructuring and distressed debt
Nick also regularly advises on restructuring / distressed debt transactions, including:
- numerous restructurings such as for Sydney Light Rail, New Royal Adelaide Hospital, Wiggins Island Coal Export Project, Sunraysia Solar Farm and Seafolly
- acting for RBS on the sale of its debt exposure in the Cross City Tunnel to Transurban
- acting on the purchase or sale of several loan portfolio transactions (including the RBS and BOSI loan portfolios)