Mathias Cheung
Mathias Cheung is a barrister at Atkin Chambers. He specialises in commercial and construction dispute resolution, including litigation, adjudication and international arbitration. Mathias has acted in a complex TCC dispute regarding the redevelopment of the Rolls Building, and has appeared successfully as junior counsel in Vinci Construction UK Ltd v Beumer Group UK Ltd [2018] EWHC 1874 (TCC). He also appears regularly as sole counsel in the TCC, most recently in DSVG Facades Ltd v Conneely Facades Ltd and McDonald & Anor v D&F Contracts Ltd [2018] EWHC 1600 (TCC).
Mathias has extensive experience advising on disputes and adjudications concerning PFI hospital and school projects, which typically involve complex contractual issues in relation to service failures, payment deductions, insolvency and termination.
As a native of Hong Kong, Mathias is fluent in both Cantonese and Mandarin. He has recently acted as junior counsel in a high-value arbitration in Hong Kong involving delay and defects claims arising from a Macanese project, and he is assisting in a number of matters relating to major railway projects in Hong Kong.
Mathias is the winner of the SCL Hudson Prize 2015 for his essay entitled 'Shylock's Construction Law: the Brave New Life of Liquidated Damages?', and has published widely in the Construction Law Journal, International Construction Law Review and the Construction Law magazine. He is also the author of the yearly Construction Law Review published by Informa.
Practice Areas
Panel
- Contributing Author
Qualified Year
- 2015
Membership
- TECBAR
- Lincoln's Inn
- COMBAR
Education
- BPTC (Outstanding), City Law School, London
- BCL, University of Oxford (Magdalen College)
- LLB (Hons), King's College London
4 Contributions by Mathias Cheung
PRACTICE NOTES
Insolvency in PFI/PF2 Projects: Contractual Remedies, Funders’ Step‑In/Novation, CIGA 2020 Restructuring, Procurement Constraints and Protective Measures
This Practice Note briefly explains insolvency issues in PFI/PF2 projects. It is designed to give restructuring and insolvency practitioners a concise, high-level overview of key contractual terms, restructuring routes, and steps that may safeguard a client’s position, presented in a practical format in routine professional practice.
What are PFI/PF2 projects?
The Private Finance Initiative (PFI) is a form of public–private partnership (PPP) used to commission and deliver a range of public assets and services, such as schools, hospitals, prisons, rail links, roads and social housing across the public sector.
PFI schemes are financed by private sector lenders, with private contractors assuming the burden and risk in relation to design, construction and/or day-to-day operations.
A typical PFI arrangement is long term, enduring for around 25–30 years.
Private Finance 2 (PF2) was launched by the government in December 2012 with the intention of broadening sources of equity and debt funding, enhancing transparency, and lowering procurement costs throughout.
Notably, the government frequently participates as a minority equity investor in PF2 schemes across the programme.
For further background on PFI/PF2 projects, refer to the Practice Notes: Introduction to PFI and PF2, and PFI/PPP terms (Glossary) for guidance.
The parties involved in a PFI/PF2 project...
Restructuring & Insolvency
PRACTICE NOTES
Public-Private Partnerships post-Brexit: procurement regimes, structures and suitability (PFI/PF2, concessions, LEPs/LIFTCos, public delivery organisations, JVs, alliancing and hybrids)
Note on public procurement post-Brexit
The Implementation Period provided by the EU–UK Withdrawal Agreement concluded at 11:00 pm GMT on 31 December 2020 (IP Completion Day). From that point, the modifications made by the Public Procurement (Amendment etc) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020, SI 2020/1319, to the body of EU-derived public procurement rules have taken effect, save for the changes identified in Regulations 7, 9, 11 and 16. This Practice Note has been revised to reflect those post-Brexit developments. The UK government has also issued high-level guidance on public procurement after IP Completion Day, namely: Public procurement policy and Public-sector procurement.
Overview Public Private Partnerships
Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) are intended to drive efficiency in public services by allocating risk appropriately and drawing upon private sector know-how. Access to private finance can likewise ease the burden on public funding, which is under growing demand. PPPs encompass a range of arrangements, forming a suite of procurement approaches. The more established variants include:
conventional procurement
PFI/PF2
partnerships such as LIFTCo’s and LEPs
concessions, and...
Banking & Finance
PRACTICE NOTES
UK infrastructure projects: government bodies, devolved arrangements and retained EU-derived procurement framework and guidance for PPP/PFI/PF2 (post-Brexit and COVID-19)
Note on Public Procurement Post-Brexit
The Implementation Period under the EU–UK Withdrawal Agreement ended at 11:00 pm GMT on 31 December 2020 (IP Completion Day). From that point, the changes brought in by the Public Procurement (Amendment etc) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020, SI 2020/13/19, to EU-derived public procurement law took effect, except for the amendments in Regulations 7, 9, 11 and 16. This Practice Note has been revised to reflect these post-Brexit developments. The UK government has also released high-level post-Brexit procurement guidance, updated after IP Completion Day: Public procurement policy and Public-sector procurement. For more detail, see Practice Note: Brexit—the implications for public procurement [Archived].
Scope of this Practice Note
This Practice Note reviews the institutions and government departments responsible for delivering infrastructure projects in the UK—particularly public private partnerships (PPP or P3), the private finance initiative (PFI) and Private Finance 2 (PF2), PFI’s successor model—together with the relevant legislation and guidance. It is noteworthy that in the 2018 Budget (delivered on 29 October 2018), it was announced that the government will...
Banking & Finance
PRACTICE NOTES
UK PPPs post-PFI/PF2: policy end for new projects, devolved procurement models (NPD/DBFM/MIM), exit planning for legacy contracts, and post-COVID infrastructure investment, with global developments
Public–private partnerships (PPPs) remain an important element of UK infrastructure delivery, making up around 12% of public sector assets. Nevertheless, their application to new projects has declined sharply. In the 2018 Budget, presented on 29 October 2018, the government announced that PF2 would no longer be used for new projects (see News Analysis: Budget 2018—what does it mean for infrastructure and housebuilding?). The National Infrastructure Strategy of November 2020 also confirmed that the PFI/PF2 model will not be reintroduced for forthcoming infrastructure schemes. That said, existing PFI and PF2 arrangements will continue, and given the typical length of these projects, they are expected to run for many years to come...
The Original Private Finance Initiative Model
The PPP form known as the Private Finance Initiative (PFI), widely adopted and promoted by the UK Government from 1997 onwards, saw a rapid fall in use for new projects from about 2012...
Banking & Finance
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