Southwark BSF Phase 1

4 Futures Phase 1 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 May 2009, providing a c. 26-year concession involving the construction and ongoing maintenance and facilities management services for St. Michael’s 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 Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation Europe Limited and Landesbank Hessen-Thueringen Girozentrale. 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, which follows the refinancing earlier this year of Phase 2 of the Southwark BSF with Amber and DZ.”

“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 even when those projects are at the smaller end of the scale. The context of volatility in the financial markets and challenges in the wider economy makes the financial benefit for the Council even more important.”