Thursday, June 29, 2006
London, United Kingdom (28 June 2006) – John Laing plc (John Laing) announces that its accommodation division Equion has reached financial close on the UK’s largest schools PFI project as part of the InspirED consortium, led by AMEC.
Highlights:Adrian Ewer, chief executive of John Laing, said:
“We are delighted to be working with our partners to deliver these new and refurbished schools for the community of South Lanarkshire. This builds on our successes to date in Scotland, a market in which we see potential for further development with additional school, hospital and primary care projects.”
The leader of South Lanarkshire Council, Councillor Eddie McAvoy, confirmed his delight at the Council securing the largest Schools Modernisation Programme in Scotland.
“This tangible investment in education will undoubtedly enhance the whole of the Council’s learning curriculum. It is an illustration of our commitment to the education of our children, young people and to the wider community as the schools’ leisure facilities will also be open for community use. Of equal importance is the Council’s ability to retain its entire staff. ”
The InspirED joint venture has successfully raised £320m in Guaranteed Secured Index-Linked Bonds a process managed by Barclays Capital with the triple-A rated financial guarantee issued by XL Capital Assurance (U.K.) Limit.
Contacts:
John Laing plc
Adrian Ewer
Tel: 020 7901 3200
Finsbury Group
Faeth Birch/Robin Walker
Tel: 020 7251 3801
John Laing is the UK’s listed market leader in PFI/PPP infrastructure projects. It currently invests in 50 PFI/PPP projects in the rail, roads and accommodation sectors, 33 of which are operational. www.laing.com.
In Scotland Equion, Laing’s accommodation division, is an investor in the 3ED consortium (Glasgow schools) and ESP (Edinburgh Schools). Equion was appointed preferred bidder for the NHS Forth Valley hospital project on 16 May 2006 and is currently shortlisted for a further schools project at East Dunbartonshire.
AMEC is an international project management and services company that designs, delivers and supports infrastructure assets for customers worldwide across the public and private sectors. In 2005, AMEC employed 45,000 people in more than 40 countries, generating annual revenue of around £5 billion. AMEC's shares are traded on the London Stock Exchange where the company is listed in the Support Services sector (LSE: AMEC.L).
Innisfree is the leading infrastructure investment group in the UK sponsoring and making long term investments in PFI and PPP infrastructure projects. Innisfree currently has a platform of 47 PFI infrastructure projects with a capital value of some £8 billion covering health, education, transport and government accommodation. Innisfree is the largest private sector investor in PFI education projects in the UK. It has current commitments of some £90 million to 16 education projects costing £1.3 billion. These comprise over 270 schools educating over 100,000 children.
Barclays Capital is the investment banking division of Barclays Bank PLC which has an AA long-term credit rating and a balance sheet of over £924 billion. With a distinctive business model, Barclays Capital provides large corporate, government and institutional clients with solutions to their financing and risk management needs. Barclays Capital has offices in 26 countries, employs over 9,000 people and has the global reach and distribution power to meet the needs of issuers and investors worldwide.
XL Capital Assurance (U.K.) Limited is a wholly owned subsidiary of XL Capital Assurance Inc. (XLCA). XLCA – rated triple-A by Moody’s Investors Service, Standard & Poor’s Ratings Service, and Fitch Ratings – is a monoline financial guarantee company that provides triple-A rated credit enhancement for the obligations of debt issuers worldwide. For more information, please visit http://www.xlca.com/