Joaquín Sales is a Partner in Watson, Farley & Williams’ Project & Structured Finance Group. He joined the firm in 2009 from Lovells, where he was the partner heading the Banking and Finance team.

Joaquín’s practice is focused on project finance transactions, particularly in the energy sector. He has advised the EIB in a thermal solar project and BBVA and other Spanish and international lenders in several photovoltaic projects. In the natural gas / LNG sector, Joaquín has recently advised the project company and sponsors (Endesa, Iberdrola, Unión Fenosa Gas and the Sultanate of Oman) in the refinancing of the Sagunto LNG terminal and financing of its second expansion. He has previously advised the lenders and monoline insurers in the financing of the three regasification terminals built in Spain since the year 2000.

Joaquín also has broad experience in infrastructure and PPP projects, where he has recently advised the EIB in the financing of the Son Dureta Hospital in Mallorca, the MLAs (Dexia, Santander, Ahorro Corporación) in the financing of the Tenerife Light Rail, and the commercial lenders financing the transport interconnectors of Moncloa (Fortis, Caixa Geral) and Plaza Elíptica (Barclays, RBS, La Caixa), in Madrid, as well as in several toll road projects.

He also advises on other forms of financing, such as securitisation: he advised the arranger in the first securitisation of wind farms (then under development) in Spain (AyT Fondo Eólico) using an innovative structure when securitisation of future cash flows was not yet permitted. When it was, he advised the arranger and fund manager in the first securitisation of future cash flows (trade marks) which was also the first by a Spanish football club (AyT Club de Fútbol I). In 2008, Joaquín advised Dexia in the acquisition of credit rights on the Spanish power system tariff deficit and subsequent repackaging of the same through an Irish SPV.

Over the last years, Joaquín has advised a number of senior and junior lenders in complex debt restructurings and intercreditor arrangements. He has advised an international bank in the restructuring of the corporate and acquisition debt of Metrovacesa, including the separation of lenders from syndicated facilities to its major shareholder, Intermediate Capital Group in the restructuring of an LBO and negotiations with senior creditors, and BBVA in the pre-insolvency restructuring of a large ceramic company.