Port Finance International

About the trainers

Robert Schot is Manager for MTBS and is specialized in the fields of port transactions, financial modelling, economic impact analysis, business case analysis, project finance and PPP structuring. He has gained experience through numerous port and shipping related projects executed worldwide. For public authorities, he has been involved in the preparation and implementation of various large port privatisation deals. Main services provided are related to the structuring of the transaction and procurement strategy, preparation of tender documents, bid evaluations and advising clients in their negotiations with private bidders. Also on behalf of private companies, he assisted clients in the preparation of their bids, with a focus on financial modelling and financial engineering services. Besides transaction/financial advisory skills, specific experience was acquired in the field of structuring and developing port concession contracts, defining optimal risk allocation schemes, project bank ability assessments and commercial/financial due diligences. Mr Schot is also an experienced Port PPP trainer and has provided various training courses to port specialist both in the Netherlands as well as abroad. Mr Schot has obtained a university degree in Business Administration (MSc.) at the Erasmus University Rotterdam, the Netherlands. He also passed Level 1 of the CFA (Chartered Financial Analyst) Exam.

Reinout Polders is a senior consultant at MTBS. He has extensive experience with port advisory projects. His main expertise is focused on financial and economic valuation of port (PPP) projects. He passed Level II of the CFA exam and is a 2017 Level III Candidate in the CFA Program. He is a trained financial modeler and has also developed multiple traffic forecast models. Reinout Polders has working experience in Africa (South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya, Ethiopia and Somaliland), the Middle East (Saudi Arabia and Egypt) and Europe (Slovenia, UK and Ireland).

Matthew Gore is a Partner at Holman Fenwick Willan LLP. He focuses on transactional corporate and commercial law with a particular emphasis on the ports, transport and logistics sectors. He has experience of a wide range of high value international corporate and commercial transactions, including share acquisitions and disposals; business and asset transfers; corporate and operational joint ventures; sector specific corporate, commercial and regulatory advisory work; and commercial contracts.

William Holme, Vice President, Shipping, Offshore & Logistics, DNB Bank. William graduated from Durham University in 2008 with a Bachelor Degree in History and now has 8 years corporate banking experience in the maritime and infrastructure sectors based in London, first at Banco Santander and for the last 6 years at DNB Bank ASA. Initially he was focussed on international ship finance, but more recently has worked exclusively on the financing of global maritime infrastructure in the form of deepsea ports and terminals. Over the past few years William has played a role in multiple successfully completed transactions across a wide range of jurisdictions. William is actively involved throughout the financing process, initially working with clients to create optimal financing structures to suit their needs and then throughout until execution. Historical transactions include both commercial bank debt and capital markets facilities, as well as numerous combinations of both.

About the Partners

Maritime & Transport Business Solutions - MTBS is an international finance and strategy advisory firm, offering entrepreneurial business solutions to clients in the maritime and transport sector. MTBS specializes in ports and terminals, and provides leading expertise in the areas of strategy, valuations, transactions and finance. The firm combines its market sector knowledge and state-of-the-art financial competences into one value proposition: "4P: innovative solutions for Port Public Private Partnerships". Its specialization has made MTBS a global market leader in ports and terminals, including logistic centres, inland ports, free zones, export processing zones, inland waterways and related transport industry players. MTBS has a broad and active global portfolio of strategy and transaction advisory mandates for leading Port Authorities and Terminal Operators.