A group of US, UK, Canadian and Swiss institutional investors have backed train leasing firm Porterbrook to raise £250m (€286.7m).

Porterbrook said it has secured the new financing to sustain investment in trains by completing a private placement to refinance its £250m, 2019 public bond.

The senior secured notes, which was issued by Porterbrook Rail Finance, matures in 2028.

Stefan Rose, the head of structured finance at Porterbrook, said: “Today’s private placement is an important milestone for Porterbrook, and leaves us in a strong position to continue our investment strategy.”

Porterbrook has a rolling stock fleet of around 5,000 vehicles on lease or on order, which includes around 4,500 passenger vehicles.

Rose said the company was encouraged by the investor demand, particularly in the US, and it is clear that that “there is confidence in our asset-management proposition”.

“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, Rose said.

“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.”

In October 2014, the Porterbrook Group of companies was acquired by a consortium of investors including Alberta Investment Management Corporation, Allianz Capital Partners on behalf of certain insurance companies of the Allianz Group, EDF Invest and a consortium of Utilities Trust of Australia, The Infrastructure Fund and Royal Bank of Scotland Group Pension Fund.

 

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