Infrastructure Utilities Solutions

Infrastructure Utilities Solutions

The Commonwealth Bank of Australia is at the leading edge of delivering innovative financing solutions for infrastructure and utilities projects. In Australia we have 20 years experience with patronage risk assets within the transport sector and we were the first financier to distribute subordinated debt to toll-road and airport infrastructure projects.

We have a large team of infrastructure and utilities project specialists on the ground in Europe who in the last three years have funded and committed over £1,000 million in assets.

We provide the following services to clients:

  • Lending to essential infrastructure projects
  • Investing in United Kingdom Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) and Private Finance Initiatives(PFIs)
  • Sourcing investment opportunities for the bank and its institutional clients in mature infrastructure assets

We specialise across a range of sectors:

  • Transport Infrastructure
  • Public-Private Partnerships and Private Finance Initiatives
  • Power Generation
  • Transmission and Distribution
  • Water, electricity and gas utilities

Our team worked on the following recent transactions:

Tunbridge Wells PFI Hospital Co-equity sponsor and investor in the £230m new acute hospital. The transaction reached financial close in March 2008 and was the Bank’s fifth hospital investment with joint venture partner John Laing. The Bank has a 37.5% ownership stake (joint sponsor partners John Laing and Interserve Facilities Management Ltd own 37.5% and 25% respectively). The new hospital, located near Tunbridge Wells in Kent, will house 512 en-suite bedrooms and be the first 100% single room facility in England, so designed to allow better isolation of patients with infections. Construction is due to complete in 2012.

Angel Trains Joint Mandated Lead Arranger providing senior acquisition facilities and subsequent refinancing structuring:

In July 2008, the Commonwealth Bank was Joint Mandated Lead Arranger and Underwriter for senior debt funding of £2.2Bn to assist the acquisition of Angel Trains. Angel is the largest lessor of passenger rolling stock in the UK. The specific needs of Angel were addressed by the co-ordinated application of a wide range Commonwealth Bank competencies across Infrastructure Finance, Structured Asset Finance, Global Markets and Loan Markets as well as legal, taxation and technical expertise. Drawing on the interactive relationship established with the client, the Bank was closely involved in the 2010 refinance which included hedging structuring and Debt Capital Markets issuance.

John Russell 
+44 20 7710 3999
john.russell@cba.com.au