Owen Knight
He/himSenior AssociateI strive to provide strategic commercial and legal advice, working closely with clients throughout matters to take them forward to successful completion.
Owen Knight is a projects lawyer that has extensive experience advising both the private and public sector on major infrastructure projects and various commercial contracts and structuring issues across the defence, education, healthcare, social infrastructure and transport sectors.
Owen has developed particular experience in complex defence procurement and advising sponsors and project companies on operational issues and major variations associated with distressed projects.
Owen is a member of the DLA Piper Project Simulator (DPS) Steering Committee and the UK & Ireland representative for Iris (DLA Piper’s global people network for LGBT+ colleagues and their allies).
Owen is experienced in PPP structuring both domestically and internationally and works with clients on practical solutions to issues. He was notably involved in a cross-portfolio restructure for InfraRed and John Laing following the Carillion liquidation and has taken this experience forward in considering the interface of contractors with regards to PPP expiry and handback.
EXPERIENCE
- Advising the UK Ministry of Defence (UK MoD) on the £1.617bn Fleet Solid Support Warships programme; a procurement of three new support vessels to support the Queen Elizabeth and Prince of Wales aircraft carriers that is considered to be the UK MOD’s pathfinder project to contribute to the UK’s commitment to achieving net zero by 2050.
- Advising The Fixed Wing joint venture in 2015/16 on its bid for the single-sourced 1B Fixed Wing package (training equipment and services) to the UK MoD. He advised on all aspects of the procurement, including funding and subcontract arrangements. In addition to the usual complexities relating to the use of high tech simulators in the military arena and the complex interfaces, there were added layers of complexity due to integration into the wider UKMFTS structure.
- Advising a leading investor, developer and long-term fund manager in 2022 on a major variation to replace a core system in a hospital project, including novel structuring and settlements to ringfence the existing project structure and payment flows.
- Advising Babcock on its equity divestment in Holdfast Training Services Limited and the unique lasting rights arrangements to govern the continued provision of specialist training, support, and soft FM services in relation to the UK MoD Royal School of Military Engineering training project.
- Advising a British multinational defence, security, and aerospace company on the defence regulatory aspects of Project Whitebeam a multi-jurisdiction internal reorganisation across the UK, Australia, Canada, Chile, Colombia, France, Poland, Portugal, Sweden, and Thailand of the Global Combat Systems business and associated asset transfers as part of a wider JV.
- Advising the InfraRed and Dalmore owned project companies in 2020 on the impact of COVID-19 on the South East London police station and Gravesend firearms training facility projects and associated contractual implications.
- Advising Aviva Public Private Finance as incoming lender on the refinancing of the ‘Two Counties’ Norfolk and Suffolk Police Investigation Centres.
- Advising eight project companies on securing an interim services provider, the negotiation of key project documents, and ultimate transfer of the FM services following Carillion’s liquidation.
- University of Law, Legal Practice Course, 2015
- University of Exeter, LLB (Hons), 2014
