My name is Tom Fail. I am widely recognised as a person who is both great to work with and one of New Zealand's leading lawyers for project finance and banking.
I bring a sophisticated approach and a down to earth attitude to my work, even when structuring challenging and complex infrastructure projects and banking transactions.
My Experience
I have worked with many different types of clients and other advisers over the last twenty or so years on project finance and banking transactions in New Zealand and Asia.
I have been fortunate to have worked for four great law firms covering deals in a number of jurisdictions and lots of different industrial sectors. I have learnt from working on many transactions that, while there are some differences between sectors, fundamental bankability principles remain fairly consistent.
In my banking roles, I have worked on corporate finance, leverage finance and deals with distressed borrowers and brought my problem solving and deal-doing approach to all of them. I am particularly proud though of the various “first of their kind” deals that I have worked on in the past (whether it be New Zealand’s first PPP, first rural irrigation project financing or the bulk infrastructure financing model used at Milldale).
In my spare time, I try to keep fit and I enjoy fishing and skiing. I haven’t been overly successful in any of those so far. They remain aspirational.
My Past Projects
Discover my featured past projects and transactions.
- Acting as borrower counsel for Lodestone Energy on its project financing of a solar energy project portfolio.
- Acting for two borrowers on their property acquisition and carbon forestry financings.
- Acting as project counsel for the Transmission Gully PPP project on various matters, including Covid-19 settlement matters.
- Acting as debt counsel on Crown Infrastructure Partners Limited’s “Project One” (the introduction of a new contractual model to finance and fund bulk infrastructure).
- Acting for the bank syndicate on the project financings of the three Central Plains Water rural irrigation projects in Canterbury and on the bank financing of the Amuri Irrigation piping project.
- Acting for banks, sponsors, bidding consortia, project vehicles and/or contractors on the Hobsonville Schools PPP, Schools 2 PPP, Schools 3 PPP, Wiri Prison PPP, Auckland East Prison PPP and P2Wk PPP.
- Acting for the banks on the Tauranga social housing reform program and for the banks financing bidding consortia on the Christchurch social housing reform program and the Tamaki Regeneration Project.
- Acting on various projects in Asia while at Allen & Overy LLP (covering a range of jurisdictions and the oil & gas, electricity generation, petrochemical and transport sectors in particular).
- Acting for the bank syndicate financing the acquisition by Blackstone funds of seven large office blocks in Auckland’s Wynyard Quarter.
- Acting for the bank syndicate financing the acquisition by First State Investments of the Vector Gas Transmission Business and (non-Auckland) Gas Distribution Business.
- Acting for Next Capital on the acquisition financing for its acquisition of NZ Bus.
- Acting for the bank syndicate financing the acquisition by First State Investments of the Maui gas pipeline assets.
Recognition
International individual recognition examples
- International Who’s Who Legal: Project Finance Lawyers 2012-2020
- International Who’s Who Legal: Banking Lawyers 2016-2021
- Key individual - Chambers Asia Pacific
- Highly regarded - International Financial Law Review
Legal directory recognition
Clients laud him as:
“One of the leading finance lawyers in New Zealand”.
– Chambers Asia Pacific
“From Tom, you get clarity on what the issue is.”
– Chambers Asia Pacific
Tom Fail is highlighted for his representation of financial organisations in relation to PPP financings and acting for borrowers on secured lending transactions. One client reports:
“He is a good all-rounder who understands the commercial and financial requirements of the client.”
– Chambers Asia Pacific
How I work - in brief
Detail-focussed
I carefully identify issues, questions, and tasks and suggest how to resolve, answer, or complete them with a creative approach.
Thriving on complexity
I am at my best working on complex and challenging projects and transactions.
Naturally proactive
I look for work opportunities and want to be involved in exciting or novel transactions.
Driven by efficiency and results
With my approach, I aim to make things efficient, simplify deal execution and reduce the risk of time and cost expansion.
Why partner with me?
My grounded nature also brings an approach to building relationships across deal teams - this enables people to work together to solve issues.
I am known for my understanding of what makes projects and transactions bankable, what various stakeholders need and how to solve project and financing issues efficiently.
That “cut-through” ability is valuable for my clients who are working on projects and transactions that are not straightforward and which normally have time and cost imperatives.
