Apricum Partner
Charles Lesser
Berlin, December 13, 2020 – Apricum, a transaction advisory and strategy consulting firm specialised in renewable energy and cleantech, announces the appointment of Charles Lesser as partner. He will focus on expanding Apricum’s transaction advisory mandates in corporate and project finance, particularly in the energy storage sector in the UK, Europe and global markets.
“We see significant opportunities for Apricum in the financing of energy storage projects in the UK and Europe and Charles has just the profile we have been looking for – a highly regarded banking and finance expert with profound energy sector experience and an exemplary track record of successful transactions,” said Apricum Founder and Managing Partner Nikolai Dobrott. “We are extremely happy to have Charles join our team and we look forward to working with him.”
“As the energy transition spreads downstream, the capital investments can harbour greater commercial risk than is familiar to traditional renewables finance. Increasingly, fresh relationships with new capital pools and commercial appetite are required to deliver the transition. Marrying strategic and commercial capital with Apricum’s deep technical expertise and outstanding reputation brings a win-win partnership for developers, investors, incumbents and for our shared climate future,” said Charles Lesser. “Despite the circumstances, 2020 has been a transformational year for energy storage in the US and UK – this is an exciting time to join the industry leaders.”
“I am very much looking forward to working with Charles on unlocking the increasing opportunities of energy storage for our clients. His vast experience in M&A, A&D, capital raising and strategic transactions will be extremely valuable to strengthen our market position in the UK and elsewhere. We believe the energy storage industry already merits specialist advisory partners, not generalists,” said Apricum Partner and Head of Energy Storage Florian Mayr.
Mr. Lesser has over 20 years’ experience in banking and finance in the renewable energy, oil & gas, mining and infrastructure sectors. With an outstanding record of achievement, he has advised public and private companies from start-up to FTSE100 on capital raising, M&A, A&D and strategic transactions, and has been recognised with numerous industry awards.
As a member of Apricum’s management team, Mr. Lesser joins existing partners Nikolai Dobrott, Florian Haacke, Frank Beckers, Dr. Moritz Borgmann and Florian Mayr. Mr. Lesser officially begins his role with Apricum as of January 1, 2021.
About Charles Lesser
Before joining Apricum, Charles Lesser was the managing director and head of natural resources at Panmure Gordon, a British corporate and institutional investment bank. Prior to that he founded Galaxy Refer, an innovative B2B software solution company. Before that he spent seven years at Macquarie Group first as managing director, European midcap equities, and then as head of European energy banking. Prior to that he held the role of board director, European managing director, and head of institutional sales and Tristone Capital. He has also been director, global energy research at UBS. Mr. Lesser holds a master’s degree in social and political sciences from the University of Cambridge.
About Apricum
Apricum – The Cleantech Advisory is a transaction advisory and strategy consulting firm specialized in the cleantech and renewable energy space. It has completed over 250 projects across its first 12 years. Apricum’s team combines decades of experience in industry, corporate finance and project finance with an in-depth understanding of renewable energy market dynamics. Apricum has an extensive global network among equity and debt investors, providing expertise and support to close the most favorable transactions. Apricum is headquartered in Berlin with further representative offices in Europe, the Middle East, Southeast and East Asia and North and South America.