HICL Infrastructure Company Completes Two Investments for £19 Million

HICL Infrastructure Company Limited ("HICL" or the "Company", and together with its subsidiaries the "Group"), the listed infrastructure investment company, is pleased to announce that it has acquired a new investment and bought an additional stake in an existing project for a total consideration of £19.0 million.

The Group has acquired a 75% interest in the Sir Robert Hadfield Wing PFI Project (the "Project") from Kajima Partnerships Limited ("Kajima"). The acquisition has been effected through a new joint venture holding company established with Kajima earlier this year, in which the Group has a 75% shareholding. 

The Project is a 32 year concession to design, build, finance and maintain a 168 bed after-care facility at the Northern General Hospital in Sheffield. The Project reached Financial Close in December 2004 and construction was completed in March 2007. Hard FM services are undertaken by Dalkia Utilities Services Limited while Kajima is responsible for management of the Project.

The Group has also completed the acquisition of an incremental 50% equity and loan note interest in the Blackburn Hospital PFI project, taking its total equity and loan note interests in the project to 100%.  The existing 50% holding has been held since the Company's IPO in 2006.

This acquisition brings the number of incremental acquisitions undertaken by the Company since launch to 22 and the number of project subsidiaries to 15. 

Total consideration paid for these investments is in line with the current valuation of similar UK PFI projects in the Group's portfolio.

These acquisitions were funded from the Group's existing cash and debt resources, and increase the number of infrastructure investments in the Group's portfolio to 44.