A £100m funding platform that aims to accelerate the UK’s drive towards a zero-emission bus network has been launched with support from Bristol-headquartered law firm Burges Salmon.
The firm’s sustainable transport team advised Rock Road, the specialist bus financier, on the launch of the fund, a partnership between its owners Rock Rail and Aviva and the UK Infrastructure Bank. 
The partnership, backed by a senior debt facility from the UK Infrastructure Bank and HSBC UK, has committed an initial £100m to fund up to 250 zero-emission buses and associated infrastructure.
A deal has already been agreed to invest in 60 battery-electric buses that will be leased to the Go-Ahead Group and used on routes throughout London, reducing carbon emissions and improving air quality across the capital.
Burges Salmon’s sustainable transport team advised on all aspects of the transaction for the Rock Group, providing corporate, projects and finance expertise.
The cross-disciplinary team was led by partners Chris Simms, Stuart McMillan and Danny Lee, supported by senior associates Daniel Hogg and Elin Blundell, and associates Madison Sutton, Olivia Hoh and Keir Stewart. 
Chris Simms, pictured, said the new funding platform would unlock significant capital to invest in the decarbonisation of the UK transport sector by supporting bus operators and public transport authorities transition their fleet and deploy more electric vehicle (EV) buses on UK roads.
“In a deal that was highly complex and involved many moving parts, our thorough understanding of commercial arrangements for EV vehicles, our track record advising on many decarbonisation projects in the transport sector, together with our collaborative approach so we could seamlessly work with all parties, meant we were in a prime position to lead Rock through a successful outcome,” he added.
Rock Road director David Rose said: “We’re grateful to the Burges Salmon team for their on-point advice throughout the whole process, the team’s experience in the transport sector really shone through and the understanding they have of the finance mechanisms meant we could rely on their expertise to get the deal over the line.”
Burges Salmon’s sustainable transport team works across the entire transport sector including rail, highways, road transport, aviation and marine and ports.
The Rock Road deal follows on from its work on two rail depots – a £66m investment by Porterbrook into the Bletchley rail depot in Milton Keynes to accommodate the long-term maintenance requirement of West Midland Train’s fleet of 36 brand new electric five-car Class 730 Aventra trains, and Angel Trains’ £50m financing of the Tyseley depot in Birmingham.
Burges Salmon’s project team also advised innovative transportation firm Transport Design International (TDI) on the sale of its award-winning Revolution Very Light Rail (VLR) vehicles to Eversholt Rail Group.
Touted to be the next generation of mass transport, battery-powered Revolution VLR is a lightweight, sustainable and affordable option when compared to heavy rail vehicles and can operate on existing rail networks or new light rail infrastructure.
