UK - London has issued a £600m bond to finance its Crossrail project, becoming the first UK local authority to tap into the capital market.

The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, said London had issued the bond through a vehicle launched in partnership with Lloyds Bank Corporate Markets.

According to Johnson, the capital market remains a cheaper option than other arrangements.

He said the move would save the Greater London Authority (GLA) £65m in borrowing costs and allow for capital to be raised 0.17% cheaper.

"This is a great example of the public and private sectors coming together and delivering an innovative solution to bear down on borrowing costs," he added.

"I hope this is a model local government can develop for other important improvements we make to the capital and beyond."

The £600m bond will help finance the £14.8bn Crossrail project that aims to build a new rail link to connect eastern and western parts of London and in which GLA has agreed to invest as much as £4.1bn.

The GLA had previously raised £800m through the government's Public Works Loan Board to finance the first financing tranche of the project.

In October last year, Chancellor George Osborne said he wanted to prioritise investment in infrastructure and announced that London's Crossrail project would go ahead.
 

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