Linklaters counsel Tom Capon discusses the rapid growth of the space industry, sustainability, and the advantages of having a broad career
“We come in every day because we love seeing new things, we love new challenges: that’s what we enjoy,” says Tom Capon, counsel and co-leader of the space sector at Linklaters. He recalls, “When I was a relatively junior lawyer, I spoke to a very pre-eminent capital markets lawyer who was close to retirement. She had been doing this job for decades and she told me, ‘Tom, I’m learning every day!’ When you hear that from someone you look up to, it’s slightly surprising because you assume they must know everything,” Capon confesses “But, she said, ‘The moment I stop learning, this job becomes pointless.’ That changed my perspective.”
Capon studied languages at university, graduating in 2010 and going on to pursue a law conversion. “I had always had it in the back of my mind that I might want to be a lawyer but I hadn’t quite made my mind up when I was at university,” he tells me. “So, I decided to study something I loved.” Capon ultimately went on to complete a training contract at another large international firm, qualifying in 2014 in the structured finance and debt capital markets practice, before moving to Linklaters in 2020. “I really enjoyed my training contract. I saw all these different aspects of what was going on at a large international firm,” Capon says.
Capon started out working in debt capital markets and gradually took on more work in banking, structured finance and other related areas. “I’ve been very lucky in that I have had such a broad range of experience in my career,” he says. He has continued to expand his portfolio of work at Linklaters, taking on “a very broad spectrum of work and doing a range of different financing products.” “I also cover a range of different sectors and asset classes,” he adds. “I am relatively agnostic as to which sectors I work in although there are some that I take a particular interest in, by way of example, I am very interested in space.”
This interest in the space and satellites sector has led Capon to take on the position of co-leader of the sector at Linklaters and he is passionate about the firm’s offering in this area. “Others and I at the firm really love leading this sector and turbocharging it,” he tells me “We can bring a well-rounded and sector-specialist service to the table when someone needs our help. I’m in finance, and also we have specialists who are in regulatory, antitrust, mergers and acquisitions (M&A), TMT and dispute resolution who all bring their expertise to the table.” Despite this diversity of expertise, Capon adds, “We all bring our varied practice sector strengths together in one uniform space practice and meet regularly. It is a consistent group of likeminded people who all want to get behind working in the space sector.”
Linklaters’ space practice also boasts lawyers with first-hand industry experience. Among these is Nicholas Puschman, a Linklaters TMT associate who started his career at the European Space Agency. Puschman will be appearing alongside Capon on the panel at Legal Cheek’s ‘Space and the law — with Linklaters’ event.
Now is a great time to be focussed on this sector, Capon reveals:
“Everyone is excited about the pace at which the sector is moving. We now have newer space enterprises that are coming through the pipeline, the next generation of the space industry. There’s been a lot of venture capital focus on some of these new enterprises,” he says, adding, “something else we’ve seen recently is that there’s a lot more interest in the sector from more mature financial sponsors such as private equity and infrastructure funds. This shows the sector maturing even further.”
Space and satellites may sound more science fiction than commercial law to those unfamiliar, so I am curious to know what Capon’s day-to-day work looks like. “In this sector, I have typically worked on corporate group-level financing for space companies and asset level financings for the satellites themselves,” he tells me. “Beyond finance, there’s a very broad spectrum of work. Our TMT team look at contracts relating to space activity like capacity agreements and launch service agreements. There’s also the antitrust work and the broader work on M&A deals — we have a lot of space experience in this area as a firm.” M&A activity is something Capon expects to see more of as space technology continues to develop. “We are possibly going to see a lot of consolidation and M&A activity in the sector, particularly as businesses absorb some of these new technologies and new enterprises which have sprung up.”
Capon also spends his time exploring the future of the sector. “One of the things we’ve been looking at is the financing angle: how these new space enterprises can be financed using a wider variety of funding sources,” he tells me, “This is something we’ve been working on alongside our day-to-day roles, speaking to banks who are active in the sector and to other market participants.”
Innovation is the name of the game in the space and satellites sector at the moment. There is a growing conversation about how UK regulation needs to adapt further to foster the sector’s rapid growth, Capon details. “What I think is so fascinating about all of this is that you have the Space Industry Act (2018) and related regulations which facilitated a new regulatory regime for space activity within the UK, such as launches within the UK,” he explains. “This was a significant step at the time.” But the broader regulatory framework already needs to be reviewed, “it’s a sector which has moved so quickly, and the tech is moving so fast, that a new regulatory review has already been published recently. The UK regulatory environment needs to adapt even further to foster the space sector and encourage it.”
I ask Capon what direction he sees UK space sector regulation going in. “The agility point that came out of the review is what really stands out to me. The ability to move quickly and efficiently to regulate the sector is definitely something we need to be seeing. Tech is advancing so quickly, and regulators need to keep pace and provide clarity — I think that’s the direction we’re going in,” he says.
All this growth in space activity has not come without its challenges, however. “Sustainability has become a big focus,” says Capon. “Space is far cheaper and more accessible to get into now. There are a lot more satellites in orbit, a lot more,” he adds. “There is an issue of space debris in particular, and the issues that this debris will cause. It affects the safety of existing satellites, heightening the risk of collisions, and creates clutter in space. That has been a huge focus.” One initiative he mentions is the Astra Carta, launched by the Sustainable Markets Initiative and unveiled by King Charles last year. This initiative pledges ‘to care for the infinite wonders of the universe’ and aims to act as a framework to inspire sustainability across the space industry globally. “It should be viewed in the context of the broader discussion of this theme, and safety and sustainability were indeed also identified as a priority outcome in the UK regulatory review. As space becomes more commercialised, this needs to become more of a consistent focus.”
To wrap up our discussion, I am curious to know what advice Capon would like to share with aspiring solicitors. “Never specialise too much,” he replies, “Always be open minded. Try everything, or try as much as you can. Find something you enjoy but never become too focussed on one thing.” He reflects on how much he has enjoyed the breadth of his own career and would encourage future lawyers to follow a similar path, “have a broad career where you get to work on a range of things.” And, most importantly, “Never stop learning.”
You can find out more about life at Linklaters at ‘Space and the law — with Linklaters’, a virtual student event taking place on Thursday 26 September. Apply now to attend.
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