Services
What Verdigris does.
Verdigris is a single-practitioner advisory. Engagements are taken on directly by Douglas Lorimer — an actuary who also holds an LLB and an honours degree in information systems, and who builds the models and writes the code himself. In practice that means the finance documents, the financial model and the quantitative work are read by one person rather than passed between three.
Refinance advisory
Once a project has an operating track record, its risk profile is materially lower than the one priced at financial close. Verdigris advises sponsors and investors on capturing that value: sizing the refinancing envelope, rebuilding or rebasing the model on actual experience, testing cover ratios against revised assumptions, and working through the consents and intercreditor mechanics the existing finance documents require. Recent work includes the refinancing of twelve REIPPPP projects and refinancing modelling across a further portfolio of three.
Lenders' base case modelling
Full lenders' base case models built for funding purposes, together with lighter models for initial feasibility assessment and moderate-level equity cases. Models are written to survive model audit: single-period timelines, transparent debt corkscrews, documented circular reference resolution, and covenant calculations that tie directly to the facility documents.
Model operationalisation
Existing base case models are typically built for financial close, not for the twenty years that follow. Verdigris rebuilds them for everyday use — stripping construction-period and bid-related functionality, adding a single actuals sheet mapped to the general ledger, and wiring actual experience through to the cash flow waterfall so that budgets, covenant certificates and reconciliations come out of one model rather than three spreadsheets.
Credit and risk pass-through review
Assessment of how completely risk has been passed to the offtaker, EPC contractor, operator and suppliers — and what residual risk therefore sits with the investor. Covers guarantee effectiveness, importance and reliance; credit assessment for senior and mezzanine positions; and the quantification of hedge exposure where a derivative sits alongside the debt.
Valuations and portfolio modelling
Discounted cash flow valuation of infrastructure equity for sale, purchase, listing or annual reporting, including the treatment of starting balances, termination amounts and discount rate selection. For investors holding several assets, Verdigris builds single generic models that represent an entire portfolio through switchable assumption sets — one model to maintain and audit rather than a dozen.
How engagements work
Most work begins with a short conversation about what the transaction needs and what already exists — a model, a term sheet, a due diligence pack. Verdigris then scopes the piece and quotes on a fixed-fee or day-rate basis depending on how well defined the deliverable is. Work is frequently undertaken alongside other advisers, and Verdigris is comfortable acting as part of a wider deal team or reporting directly to a credit or investment committee.
Verdigris also accepts non-executive directorships, and has served on the boards of a South African bank, listed and unlisted securitisations, a listed project bond SPV, commodity and equity exchange-traded funds, an independent school and a listed industrials group.
Verdigris provides commercial and financial advice. It is not a law firm and does not provide legal advice or legal services; clients should take their own legal advice on the transaction documents.
Get in touch to discuss a transaction.