Transactions & Due Diligence
Environmental and planning risks are significant aspects of modern corporate transactions. When buying or selling a corporation or assets such as property or energy generation projects, understanding the environmental liabilities associated with your transaction and how to navigate them, will put you in the best position to negotiate and transact a deal you are comfortable with.
Typically, environmental liability issues in transactions relate either to current or historic activities which impact the environment (such as environmentally-relevant business operations) or to environmental conditions that have potential to impact a site, irrespective of current business use (such as risk arising from legacy site contamination, flood or bushfire risk). If continued use or development of a site is an important part of an acquisition, legal due diligence evaluating the planning law constraints and potential liabilities is paramount.
Gabrielle provides legal due diligence support on environmental and planning law issues to numerous corporate transactions each year, typically involving tens of commercial or industrial sites, across a number of Australian jurisdictions and sectors. Gabrielle works collaboratively with clients and their corporate and property lawyers, often from leading premier national and international law firms, to provide specialist environmental law advice on environmental liability. She draws upon her mature network of experienced environmental consultants to pull together an advisory team to meet client needs, including appointing environmental consultants, drafting legal due diligence reports and negotiating contract terms.
Environmental liability in Australia is complex. Each jurisdiction has its own pollution and contamination legislation and the insurance market is not as developed as Europe or the US meaning that liability issues cannot easily be addressed by way of environmental insurance
G A B R I E L L E G U T H R I E
Legal Services
Guthrie Legal advises clients on environmental and development law issues arising in commercial transactions, including mergers and acquisitions, environmental terms in commercial agreements, including leases, and the sale and purchase of contaminated sites.
Gabrielle brings her insight and experience of working with clients on environmental advisory and regulatory enforcement matters to her transactional work across a range of commercial and industrial sectors. She has experience advising on environmental issues in all Australian States and Territories and an exceptional network of environmental consultants with whom she regularly works to ensure clients get the advice they need.
Recent Experience
Environment and planning approvals due diligence for a NSW Solar BESS
Environmental and planning legal due diligence for a client in relation to acquisition of Australian agribusinesses with operational and former sites in VIC, QLD and WA
Advising a US client on acquisition of NSW-based manufacturing corporation
Advising a national transport sector client on a number of corporate acquisitions of public transport businesses with sites in QLD, VIC, NSW, & NT, including legal due diligence and negotiation of terms of share sale agreements
Environmental due diligence for a private equity purchaser of a global corporation with sites in NSW, QLD and VIC
Approvals due diligence for a purchaser in relation to planning and environmental approvals for a Victorian wind farm project, including windfarm site, transmission corridor and related grid connection options
Advising a utility asset owner on environmental terms within operational service and management agreements for its contractors, including appropriate contractor management
Advising a prospective purchaser of a contaminated development site subject to environmental audit
