About Lisa Zhou
Lisa specialises in renewable energy and infrastructure project finance, real estate finance and corporate finance.
She advises financiers, sponsors and borrowers across a range of sectors, including renewable energy, infrastructure (including datacentres and digital infrastructure), real estate, funds, healthcare and telecommunications.
Lisa's transactional experience includes advising:
Renewable energy and storage
- Akaysha Energy BESS portfolio: the financiers on the approximately $1.75 billion refinancing of a portfolio of more than 1GW of BESS assets owned by BlackRock-backed Akaysha Energy;
- Potentia Energy and sponsors (Enel Green Power and Inpex Corporation) – on the $830 million financing of a 600MW portfolio of solar, BESS and wind projects (including greenfield BESS projects), across Australia;
- CWP Renewables portfolio acquisition and financing with Squadron: the financiers on:
- the portfolio acquisition financing—the largest renewables portfolio transaction in Australia at the time (at a ~$4 billion sale price) and one of only several vendor stapled financings taken to completion in Australia; and
- the $2.7 billion portfolio refinancing of ~2GW of projects in operation or under construction across Australia;
- Elaine BESS: Akaysha Energy on the $460 million development and construction project financing of the Elaine BESS, with a Snowy Hydro virtual tolling agreement—the largest four-hour virtual tolling arrangement in the Australian market to date;
- Waratah Super Battery: Energy Corporation of New South Wales on the Waratah Super Battery, the largest standby network battery in the Southern Hemisphere;
- Foresight: the lenders in relation to the $700 million portfolio-based financing of a portfolio of wind, solar, hydro and battery projects and, previously, on the acquisition by Foresight and project financing of a portfolio of wind and hydro power projects from Meridian;
- FRV solar and BESS portfolio refinancing: the financiers on the $1.2 billion refinancing of FRV's renewables portfolio;
- Wind, solar and BESS financing: in relation to Global Power Generation’s $2.3 billion portfolio financing platform for its BESS, solar and wind assets;
- Uungula Wind Farm: the financiers on the development project financing by Squadron Energy of the 414MW Uungula Wind Farm;
- Metlen Energy/Mytilineos solar projects: the sponsor in relation to the portfolio development and project financings of two solar portfolios—first, the Corowa, Junee and Wagga Wagga Solar Farms with Coles Group Limited as an offtaker; and second, the Kingaroy, Moura and Wyalong Solar Farms with NBN as an offtaker;
- Mornington BESS: Valent Energy on the project financing;
- Hazelwood BESS: the sponsors on the Macquarie Capital/ENGIE development of the Hazelwood Battery storage project;
- BESS virtual offtake agreements: Engie on its VPPA with Neoen Australia for the Victorian Big Battery and Zen on its VPPA for the Quorn Park Hybrid BESS and Solar facility;
- Winning CIS bids:
- Lightsource bp on its winning bid to the NEM-wide generation CIS tender for three separate projects, including on bankability issues; and
- ACEnergy on its winning CIS bid for the Joel Joel BESS and Little River BESS projects;
- Snapper Point Gas Power Station, and Lincoln Gap Wind and Battery Projects: the financiers to RATCH/Nexif on the portfolio refinancing; and
- Powering Australian Renewables Fund/Tilt Renewables: the sponsors on the original establishment of the PARF fund and then advising the sponsors on the sale and project finance of a series of solar and wind projects, including the Broken Hill and Nyngan solar power stations, Silverton Wind Farm and Coopers Gap Wind Farm.
Infrastructure and datacentres
- Keppel data centre hub - advising Keppel in relation to its $10 billion data centre hub project with Lightwood Group near Victoria’s former Hazelwood power station;
- Global Switch: in relation to the sale of its Australian data centre business to HMC Capital;
- Northeast Link: the Capella Capital led consortium on its successful bid and project financing of the largest PPP in Victoria's history;
- ConnectEast: on its $705 million refinancing for EastLink—the longest tollway in Victoria, connecting the Eastern Freeway to Peninsula Link and Frankston Freeway;
- New Melton Hospital PPP development and the Frankston Hospital redevelopment PPP: the financiers to the Exemplar Health consortium (comprising Capella, Lendlease, Honeywell and Compass) on its successful bids and project financings for both developments;
- Sydney Desalination Plant: the sponsors in relation to several refinancings, including the refinancing of its syndicated bank facilities through a new $1.79 billion debt package and previous to that, a conversion of the document structure to a common terms deed platform to allow for diversification of debt to include short-medium term bank debt and long-term Samurai debt;
- Hawaiki submarine internet cable system: the financier on the development financing of the 14,000 kilometre Hawaiki submarine internet cable system with 30 Tbps of capacity, connecting Australia, New Zealand and the United States; and
- Lane Cove Tunnel: the private placement investors on Transurban's $460 million refinancing of its bank and private placement debt facilities for the Lane Cove Tunnel.
Real estate and corporate financing
- i-MED's Jones Radiology business: CBA in relation to the acquisition financing of the Jones Radiology business, a leading provider of diagnostic imaging services across South Australia and the Northern Territory;
- Crystalbrook SAM Hotel: the financier on the construction financing of the 12 level luxury hotel developed by the Samaras Group in Adelaide;
- Golden Age build-to-rent: in relation to its Skye Square build-to-rent development in Box Hill, Victoria;
- Irongate: the financier in relation to debt facilities to Irongate for the acquisitions of warehouse and industrial properties in NSW and Queensland;
- FawknerProperty: the financier in relation to the financing of Fawkner Property's acquisition of Willows Shopping Centre in Queensland;
- Broadmeadows Shopping Centre: the senior financier on the acquisition by Milemaker of a co-ownership interest in the shopping centre (including co-ownership arrangements with Vicinity Centres);
- Vocus: on the refinancing of the group's A$1.07 billion and NZ$160 million bank debt facilities;
- Vicinity Centres: the lenders on the refinancing of $5.1 billion of bank debt facilities for the Federation Centres and Novion merged group (now known as Vicinity Centres);
- Growthpoint Properties: the lenders on the group's syndicated bank debt facilities;
- The financier to ISPT and Galileo Group: on the construction financing of three residential apartment towers known as Metro Apartments, comprising more than 500 apartments in Chatswood Transport Interchange in NSW; and
- Institutional lender: on a number of property financings across Australia, including the $425 million acquisition of The Complex office towers, $200 million acquisition financing of Figtree shopping centre (NSW) and $170 million acquisition financing for 'K1'—a commercial office tower in Fortitude Valley, Queensland.