The corporate finance, real estate and renewable energy teams at Bristol-headquartered law firm Burges Salmon have completed a hat-trick of deals in the power, hotel and pharma sectors.
Its renewable energy lawyers advised NextEnergy on a brace of corporate power purchase agreements (PPAs) while its corporate finance team has worked with oncology drug discovery accelerator Cumulus Oncology on an investment fundraising round worth around £4.1m. 
Burges Salmon’s real estate expertise was used by hotel franchise group Atlas Hotels on its acquisition of the Chardon Group, which added six properties to its portfolio, taking it to more than 60 venues across the UK.
London-based NextEnergy, a leading player in the global solar sector signed the agreements with part of the Goldman Sachs Group and law firm DLA Piper.
Goldman Sachs will benefit from a virtual PPA, which will be powered by three solar assets in the UK, planned for delivery in 2023.
This new renewable capacity will align with Goldman Sachs’ UK electricity demand and support its commitment to source 80% of its renewable energy from long-term agreements by 2025 on its way to achieving net zero in its operations and supply chain by 2030. 
The agreement with DLA Piper relates to the energy generated from a new-build solar farm in the UK as part of DLA Piper’s drive to reach its decarbonisation targets. The solar farm, to be built in Somerset, will produce 13megawatts of renewable power.
NextEnergy has more than 200 global staff, operates in nine counties across Europe, the Americas and India, and is made up of three key independent specialist solar companies and a charitable foundation.
The Burges Salmon team advising on the deals was led by partner and head of renewable energy Ross Fairley, pictured, along with director Alistair Rattray, associate Charlotte Robinson and solicitor Andrew Parmar-Yee.
NextEnergy managing director Ross Grier said: “We very much appreciated Burges Salmon’s assistance in bringing this to fruition. Their insight and experience in corporate PPAs was a valuable complement to the NextEnergy deal team.”
Ross Fairley added: “As one of the leading players in the global solar sector, these agreements mark two significant deals for NextEnergy. 
“We have developed a real specialism in these PPA arrangements and this is another example of us facilitating organisations to tackle their net zero targets. It was a pleasure to work with the NextEnergy team on these PPAs.”
Edinburgh-based Cumulus Oncology fundraising follows its inaugural £1.7m investment round on which Burges Salmon advised two years ago.
St Andrews-based investment firm Eos Advisory led the latest round, supported by Scottish Enterprise, and Alba Equity.
Cumulus is the first oncology drug development accelerator in Europe. It develops new oncology treatments that target the unmet medical needs of specific cancer patient populations.
Founded by a team with in-depth oncology expertise and proven commercial success, Cumulus brings an innovative ‘hub-and-spoke’ approach to the European market.
The Burges Salmon team advising on the deal was led by its Edinburgh-based corporate finance partner Danny Lee, alongside senior associate Katie Carter, pictured, and solicitor Victoria MacAulay.
The six hotels sold by Scottish hotel investment company Chardon Group to Atlas are located across Scotland in Dunfermline, Edinburgh, Glasgow and Perth. 
The acquisition reflects Leicester-based Atlas Hotels’ ambitious growth strategy to become the leading multi-brand platform for select service hotels in the UK and takes its portfolio above 60 sites with more than 7,400 bedrooms.
Burges Salmon has advised the group on a number of other hotel transactions over the past year, including the acquisition of the 109-bedroom Hampton by Hilton in Birmingham’s Jewellery Quarter and a 239-bedroom Holiday Inn Express in Snow Hill, Birmingham.
The Burges Salmon team advising on the deal was led by Edinburgh-based real estate partner Robert Forman, pictured, with support from Claire MacLean and members of the firm’s corporate finance team including partner Danny Lee, associate Niall Mackle, director Joanna Monaghan and solicitor Benjamin Edwards.
Burges Salmon employs 800 people in its Bristol HQ and London and Edinburgh offices.
