Southwark BSF Phase 2

4 Futures Phase 2 Limited is the special purpose vehicle for the project, majority owned by International Public Partnerships (“INPP”) with a minority stake held by the London Borough of Southwark. Amber Infrastructure Group (“Amber”) is the investment advisor to INPP.

The project originally reached financial close in August 2010, providing a c. 26-year concession involving the construction and ongoing maintenance and facilities management services for two schools, St. Thomas the Apostle College and Sacred Heart Roman Catholic School.

A new long-term senior debt facility, along with ancillary facilities, was arranged with DZ BANK AG London Branch (“DZ”), replacing the original debt provided by Norddeutsche Landesbank Girozentrale and DZ (where Dexia Credit Local was previously a lender, and remained a hedge counterparty). Margins were reduced and gearing increased, resulting in a financial gain for both the London Borough of Southwark and the shareholders.

Simon Johnson, Project Lead: “We are very pleased to have acted on this refinancing, the first to reach financial close of what we expect to be a small group of refinancings working alongside Amber.”

“The new debt package arranged with DZ is extremely competitive, resulting in a meaningful ‘refinancing gain’ for both the London Borough of Southwark and the shareholders, demonstrating that the refinancing of PFI projects can still generate worthwhile benefits for the counterparties despite a backdrop of volatility in the financial markets. That context of challenges in the wider economy makes the financial benefit for the Council even more important.”