The project was a joint initiative of the Victorian Government, through the Department of Primary Industries and La Trobe University.

Senior debt financing was procured by Plenary from a club of three mandated lead arrangers, including Commonwealth Bank of Australia, National Australia Bank and Westpac.

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The Plenary Research consortium will now design, build, finance and maintain the Biosciences Research Centre to be built at La Trobe University’s Bundoora campus which will accommodate up to 400 staff, including scientists and support staff from DPI and La Trobe University.

Clayton Utz acted for the State of Victoria on the deal, while Deacons acted for Grocon Constructions and Freehills acted for the the senior debt financiers. 

Allens partner Emma Warren led the Allens team on the deal, which included senior associates Andrew Crawford and Anna Thwaites from the firm's project group, as well as senior associate James Darcy and lawyer Sarah Danne from banking and finance.

According to Warren: "It was great to advise Plenary on their role in the successful consortium for this important project. Everyone involved in the Plenary consortium worked very hard to pull together this winning bid and it is a credit to all involved on both sides of the deal that we were able to achieve financial close within a short space of time on a project of this type in the current

economic circumstances."