Acquisition of three new UK schools investments

RNS Number : 2188H

HICL Infrastructure Company Ld

12 March 2015

 

12 March 2015

HICL Infrastructure Company Limited

Acquisition of three new UK schools investments

HICL Infrastructure Company Limited, the listed infrastructure investment company advised by InfraRed Capital Partners Limited, is pleased to announce the acquisition from Laing O'Rourke Plc ("LOR") of a 40% interest in the Salford & Wigan Phase 1 BSF^[1] Project ("S&W Phase 1"), a 40% interest in the Salford & Wigan Phase 2 BSF Project ( "S&W Phase 2") and a 68% interest in the Newham Schools BSF Project ("Newham") for a combined consideration of £26.4m. Details are as follows:

·          S&W Phase 1 and S&W Phase 2 are 26-year and 27-year PFI concessions, respectively, to design, build, finance, maintain and operate five new secondary schools in Salford, Greater Manchester on behalf of Salford City Council.  S&W Phase 1 was signed in 2009 and has been fully operational since 2011, while S&W Phase 2 was signed in 2011 and has been fully operational since 2013. Construction of both projects was undertaken by Laing O'Rourke Construction, a subsidiary of LOR.  The provision of hard and soft FM services, including catering, are undertaken by SPIE Facility Services Limited, a subsidiary of SPIE SA Group;

·          Newham is a 27-year PFI concession to design, build, finance, maintain and operate two new secondary schools in Newham, London on behalf of the London Borough of Newham Council.  The project was signed in 2009 and has been fully operational since 2010, with construction carried out by Laing O'Rourke Construction.  The provision of hard and soft FM services, including catering, is undertaken by Mitie PFI Limited, a subsidiary of Mitie Group Plc.

The acquisitions, which are funded by the Group's current cash surplus following the sale of Colchester Garrison MoD PFI project, are in line with the current valuation of similar UK infrastructure projects in the Group's portfolio and take the number of investments in the Group's portfolio to 100.

James O'Halloran, Investment Director, InfraRed Capital Partners Limited said:

"We are delighted to have completed the acquisition of these fully operational schools projects from Laing O'Rourke and we look forward to developing our relationship with Laing O'Rourke with a view to sourcing additional investment opportunities for the Group.  We are pleased with the schools' build quality and the projects' operational performance. We look forward to working with all stakeholders to ensure the projects continue to deliver the high level of services and facilities expected."

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^[1] Building Schools for the Future, an investment programme in secondary school buildings in England

Enquiries

InfraRed Capital Partners Limited                            [phone]

Tony Roper

Keith Pickard

Laurence Richardson

Tulchan Communications                                            [phone]

Martha Walsh

Victoria Huxster

Canaccord Genuity Limited                                         [phone]

Dominic Waters

Neil Brierley

Will Barnett

David Yovichic

HICL Infrastructure Company Limited

HICL Infrastructure Company Limited ("HICL" or the "Company", and together with its subsidiaries the "Group") is a long term investor in infrastructure projects which are predominantly in their operating phase and yielding steady returns. It was the first infrastructure investment company to be listed on the London Stock Exchange. With a current portfolio of 100 social and transportation infrastructure investments with predominantly availability-based income streams, it is seeking further suitable investment opportunities which fit its stated Investment Strategy.

Further details can be found on the HICL website, www.hicl.com.

InfraRed Capital Partners Limited

The Investment Adviser to HICL is InfraRed Capital Partners Limited ("InfraRed") which has successfully invested in over 160 infrastructure projects since 1997. InfraRed is a leading international investment manager focused on infrastructure and real estate. It operates worldwide from offices in London, Hong Kong, New York, Paris, Seoul and Sydney. With over 100 professionals it manages in excess of USD 8bn of equity capital in multiple private and listed funds, primarily for institutional investors across the globe. InfraRed is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.

The infrastructure investment team at InfraRed consists of over 50 investment professionals, all with an infrastructure investment background and a broad range of relevant skills, including private equity, structured finance, construction, renewable energy and facilities management.

Further details can be found on InfraRed's website, www.ircp.com.

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