Tameside Refinancing

Inspiredspaces Tameside (ProjectCo2) Limited is the special purpose vehicle for the project, majority owned by International Public Partnerships (“INPP”) with a substantial stake held by Tameside Metropolitan Borough Council (“Tameside MBC”). Amber Infrastructure Group (“Amber”) is the investment advisor to INPP.

The project originally reached financial close in April 2010, providing a c. 27-year concession involving the construction and ongoing maintenance and facilities management services for five schools in Tameside: the Globe Lane KS4 Learning Centre, Hyde Technology School, Dale Grove School, Denton Community College and the Denton KS3 Learning Centre.

A new long-term senior debt facility, along with ancillary facilities, was arranged with Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank Limited (London Branch) (“SMTB”), replacing the existing debt facilities provided by Barclays, Helaba and SwissRe (where Dexia Credit Local was previously a lender, and remained a hedge counterparty). Margins were reduced, certain reserves released and gearing increased, resulting in a financial gain for Tameside MBC, in both of its roles as Authority and as a shareholder, and INPP.

Simon Johnson, Project Lead:

“We are very pleased to have acted on this refinancing, continuing our pipeline of similar exercises supporting Amber. The new debt package arranged with SMTB is extremely competitive, resulting in a meaningful ‘refinancing gain’ for both partners in the Project: Tameside Metropolitan Borough Council and INPP. These exercises demonstrate 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. As the financial adviser running the funding competition, it’s particularly rewarding to work with a lender new to this specific sector, and I look forward to other opportunities to work with the team at SMTB.”

Read more about our financial advisory services here.