09.11.18
Porterbrook secures £250m financing to sustain investment in passenger trains
Porterbrook, the UK’s largest owner of passenger trains, has announced the refinancing of a £250m public bond to support and sustain its investment in its rolling stock.
The Derby-based company has refinanced the bond in the private placement market, completing the refinancing of the 2019 public bond after backing from a global pool of investors from the UK, US, Canada and Switzerland.
Stefan Rose, head of structured finance at Porterbrook, said that this was an “important milestone” for the company and leaves it in a “strong position to continue our investment strategy.”
He said: “The significant appetite for the transaction supports the role of Porterbrook within the UK rail market, with investors recognising the value we add in innovation and maintenance of our rolling stock fleet across the network.”
“With our revitalised and strengthened balance sheet, Porterbrook can continue to deliver on our business goals and sustain our position as a vital component of UK rail.”
Porterbrook has a rolling stock fleet of around 5,000 vehicles on order or on lease, of which around 4,500 are passenger vehicles.
Just last month, the company launched the UK’s first hybrid rail project with Rolls-Royce, using the first UK trains with an MTU drive system after converting Class 168 and Class 170 Turbostar diesel trains to hybrid-electric versions known as HybridFLEX trains.
Rose said: “We were encouraged by the investor demand, particularly in the US, and it is clear that that there is confidence in our asset-management proposition.
“This transaction builds on the refinancing of our corporate facilities which we completed earlier in the year and ensures that we now have a diversified funding group including both banks and institutional investors to support our new bids and fleet upgrades in the near future.”
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