Acquisition

RNS Number : 1107J

HICL Infrastructure Company Ld

27 June 2011

 



27 June 2011

HICL Infrastructure Company Limited

Acquisition

HICL Infrastructure Company Limited ("HICL" or the "Company", and together with its subsidiaries the "Group"), the listed infrastructure investment company, announces that the Group has acquired a new interest in a PFI project and three incremental interests in existing investments.

The new investment is a 50% interest in the Pontefract and Pinderfield Hospitals PFI Project ("P&P") and the incremental stakes are additional interests in the Oxford John Radcliffe ("OJR") and Queen Alexandra ("QAH") Hospitals; all three of these interests were acquired from Royal Bank Project Investments Limited. The incremental stakes acquired in OJR and QAH take the Group's ownership in each of these projects to 100%. The Group has also acquired a further, small interest in the Medium Support Helicopter Aircrew Training Facility from Serco Limited.

The total consideration paid by the Group for these investments was £32.8m, is in line with the current valuation of similar UK PFI projects in the Group's portfolio, and was funded from the Group's existing resources.

P&P involves the financing, design and construction and subsequent operation of two hospital facilities for the Mid Yorkshire NHS Trust, delivering a combined total of 774 beds. Construction of the new hospital facilities on the two sites was substantially completed in January 2011, with construction works undertaken by subsidiaries of Balfour Beatty plc. Final construction completion is expected to take place in October 2011. Services are being delivered by Balfour Beatty Workplace Limited.

The acquisition of this investment, which is still in its construction phase, takes the number of infrastructure investments in the Group's portfolio to forty three and the number of assets currently in construction to three.

Tony Roper, Director of InfraRed Capital Partners Limited, HICL's Investment Adviser, remarked: "These acquisitions form part of the strong pipeline previously reported and are in line with the Group's strategy.  In the case of Pontefract and Pinderfield, the main facilities are operational and we look forward to working alongside our co-shareholder and supply chain to provide high quality facilities to the Trust.

The three incremental stakes accord with our stated strategy of making further investments, where possible, in projects which the Group already owns."

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M:Communications	[phone]
Ed Orlebar Andrew Benbow
InfraRed Capital Partners Limited	[phone]
Tony Roper Keith Pickard Sandra Lowe

HICL Infrastructure Company Limited

The Company is a long term investor in infrastructure projects which are predominantly in their operating phase and yielding steady returns. Following this acquisition the Company now owns a portfolio of 43 infrastructure projects of which 40 are fully operational.

The Company continues to seek further suitable investment opportunities in line with its strategy set out in its annual results for the year to 31 March 2011 and its November 2010 C share prospectus.

Further details of the Company can be found on its website www.hicl.com.

Investment Adviser

The Investment Adviser to the Company is InfraRed Capital Partners whose infrastructure investment team has successfully invested in and managed infrastructure projects since 1997. InfraRed Capital Partners Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority. 

 

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