UK Landowners

Matt Yard

Matthew has been advising the renewable energy sector for over 10 years, where he held an Associate Director role in EY’s Energy Corporate Finance team. He has advised on the investment of over 1GW of onshore wind, solar PV, hydro, biomass and energy from waste projects. This involved the raising of equity and senior debt project finance, including a large proportion of the assets that Belltown now manage on behalf of investors. Prior to EY he qualified as a Chartered Accountant. At Belltown, Matthew is responsible for leading the asset management team and providing a comprehensive and proactive service to our clients.

Andy Black

COO

Andy has over 19 years of experience in the renewable energy market working for DNV-GL, the world’s leading independent renewable energy consultancy. At DNV-GL he provided a wide range of technical, project and management services leading to the successful development of over 5GW of installed capacity in most major markets throughout the world. Andy has a Masters in Mechanical Engineering and Management.

At Belltown, Andy is responsible for the technical and operational aspects of our activities, including technical DD, construction management and site operations.

Peter Thomas

Head of Construction

Peter is a Chartered Engineer with over 9 years of experience in the renewable energy market working for Garrad Hassan, the world’s leading independent renewable energy consultancy. As a senior member of GL Garrad Hassan he provided technical and project management services for wind and solar energy projects in the UK and other major global markets. Peter has a MEng in Aerospace Engineering from Liverpool University.

Charles Webster

Charles is a corporate lawyer with over 10 years’ experience advising on renewable energy projects in the UK and abroad.  He has worked in private practice in Australia and the UK, including as part of the corporate legal team at Withers LLP in London for four years. In 2012 Charles became General Counsel of Green Hedge which developed and financed over 20 utility-scale solar farms. Charles joined Belltown as General Counsel in 2016 and manages Belltown’s legal affairs. He is also involved in project development, acquisitions, financings, and disposals, as well as assisting with asset management and investor relations. Charles is dual qualified and admitted as a solicitor in England and Australia. Charles has a B.Laws from the University of Technology in Sydney.

Joel Hutchinson

Joel has 12 years of experience in the renewables industry. His previous roles included the development of GW-scale offshore wind farms at RWE Innogy and the engineering of biogas energy systems in rural, developing communities in India. Joel is Head of UK Development at Belltown, focusing on growing our existing UK Onshore Wind pipeline by realising the potential of development sites throughout England, Scotland and Wales. His responsibilities include understanding and engaging with local ecological and political environments, negotiating with land owners, analysis of complex grid systems and managing the planning process. Prior to this, Joel was Belltown’s Construction Project Manager. He was the technical lead for Belltown’s acquisition of pre-construction and operational onshore solar and wind assets and was then responsible for ensuring projects were delivered on-time, under-budget and met the required quality standards. Joel has a degree in Mechanical Engineering and a PhD in Wind Turbine Blade Design and Manufacture, both from the University of Nottingham.

Philip Duggan

Philip has been involved in the renewable energy sector for the past 14 years. He has investment experience across technologies from wind farms and solar parks at Consensus Business Group to fuel cells at Conduit Ventures. Philip has a track record both as a Principal Investor and as a Structured Finance Advisor, having most recently led Excalibur Group’s Offset Investment Business, which including aircraft, automotive, and communications asset finance. Philip has a BSc from the London School of Economics. At Belltown, Philip is responsible for deal sourcing, execution and managing fundraising.

Paul Hewett

Paul has been at Belltown since it’s foundation in 2013, initially as an Investment Director leading investments across wind, solar and hydro, and then as Managing Director since July 2018. Prior to Belltown, Paul worked at the Boston Consulting Group, primarily in the Private Equity and Energy practice areas. Paul holds an MBA from Berkeley-Haas School of Business, graduating with honors, and an MA in Mathematics from The University of Edinburgh, graduating top of class.

At Belltown, Paul is responsible for the strategic and commercial aspects of our activities, including new opportunity sourcing and investor relations

Tom Hill-Norton

Tom has been investing in renewable energy projects since the end of 2006. Most recently he has raised and invested a series of renewable energy funds for Guinness Asset Management and worked with the energy investment team at Actis on renewable energy investments in emerging markets. Prior to 2006, Tom worked in corporate finance (with JP Morgan, Flemings and Fredericks Michael) and strategy consultancy with The Boston Consulting Group. Tom has an MA (Hons) from The University of Edinburgh and an MBA from INSEAD.

Michael Kaplan

Prior to Belltown, Michael was a partner at Albion Ventures LLP. Between 2009 and 2013 Michael helped to establish Albion as one of the pioneering investors in the UK’s community scale renewable energy sector. Prior to Albion, Michael worked at The Boston Consulting Group and before that, the Chief Financial Officer of Widevine Technologies, a security software company (sold to Google in 2010). Michael has a BA from the University of Washington and an MBA from INSEAD.

Dan Allen

Dan has been working in infrastructure and energy investment for the last 13 years. At Belltown, Dan is responsible for deal sourcing, execution and financing. Since joining Belltown, he has led on 4 acquisitions (including a 50MW wind farm in England and a 39MW CFD wind farm in Scotland), and led 4 project financings, raising construction and operational facilities from Macquarie, KFW, Barclays and BTMU.
Prior to Belltown, Dan was a senior member of John Laing’s project finance team, originating and executing equity investments and raising finance on transactions across Europe and North America.

Hernán Farace

Prior to Belltown, Hernan was Senior Vice President of Asset Management at Greenwood Energy, managing all aspects of Greenwood’s portfolio of projects in the Americas. Before that, Hernan spent nine years at Deutsche Bank where he built a portfolio of new and renewable energy assets (including wind, solar, hydro and biomass) in Europe, ultimately leading the sale of these assets in 2009/10. Hernan holds an MBA with honors from Wharton and an Economics degree from Universidad de San Andres in Buenos Aires where he graduated Magna Cum Laude.

At Belltown, Hernan is responsible for deal sourcing and execution in the north east of the US.

Ed Perrin

Ed has worked in infrastructure development since 2008 on a wide range of projects across Europe. Since 2011, Ed has specialised in renewable energy and worked with two major developers, RES and Solarcentury. Ed has worked on projects ranging from multi-MW solar PV plants to multi-GW offshore wind farms. He has an MSc in Environmental Science from Trinity College Dublin and a BSc in Biological Sciences from The University of Edinburgh.

At Belltown, Ed is responsible for managing the development of utility scale solar PV projects in the north east of the US.

Lloyd Pope

Lloyd was previously Vice President Supply Chain at Roofing Supply Group (RSG), a $1bn national distributor of building products owned by private equity firm CD&R. Prior to RSG, he was a Director in the Enterprise Improvement Group at AlixPartners, a global consulting firm specialising in improving corporate financial and operational performance. Lloyd has also worked as an Operations Consultant with ICG Commerce (now Accenture) and Centex Homes (now Pulte Homes). Lloyd earned his BBA in Marketing and MBA from the University of Texas at Austin.

Jeff Clay

Prior to Belltown, Jeff led strategy and corporate development for Roofing Supply Group (RSG), a $1bn national distributor of building products owned by private equity firm CD&R. Over three-years, Jeff opened 26 new locations delivering over $170M in revenue and $12M in EBITDA. Prior to RSG, Jeff served as the COO of Buck Consultants, a $400M HR consulting and outsourcing business unit at Xerox. Jeff started his career as a consultant with Bain & Company in the US, Europe and Central America and has extensive commercial construction and development experience. Jeff has a BBA in Accounting and MS in Finance from Texas A&M University, an MBA from INSEAD and holds an active CPA license.

Danielle Scholl

Prior to Belltown, Dani spent 8 years at John Laing and HCP, the leading provider of infrastructure management services in the UK. At John Laing, Dani was Finance Manager for Renewable Infrastructure. She was responsible for the delivery of all financial services for a portfolio of renewable projects in the UK and Europe, as well as providing support on the acquisition and financing of all John Laing’s Renewable Energy investments. Dani has a degree in Accounting and Finance from the University of Cape Town and gained the CIMA qualification at BPP London.

At Belltown, Dani is responsible for financial reporting for Belltown and its clients and providing finance support on new deals.

David Johnson

Prior to Belltown, David was Chief Financial Officer of multiple VC backed companies which he led to IPO or trade sale. In 2005 he co-founded BlueGlue, a revolutionary recruitment concept for the technology market, which was sold in 2014 to a US PE backed recruitment company. David began his career at Unilever and is a Chartered Management Accountant.

At Belltown, David is responsible for management of the finance function including accounts, treasury, forecasting, and financial reporting.