Macquarie committed to PPP advisory as others retreat from UK market

29 January 2003

LONDON -  Macquarie Bank continues to establish itself as a key player in the PPP advisory market, with five major deals closing or achieving preferred bidder status in the past month. Macquarie’s continued focus on PPP advisory work comes at a time when other players are winding back activities in this area.

Three Macquarie-advised PPP projects won preferred bidder status and two achieved financial close in the past month:

• Bouygues/HSBC Infrastructure were appointed preferred bidder on the £80m project financing for Brent Emergency Care and Diagnostic Centre at Central Middlesex Hospital, for the North West London Hospitals NHS Trust
• Equion/Laing Construction Wales and West/Emcor were appointed preferred bidder by the Defence Authority Repair Agency for the construction of a new aircraft hangar in South Wales
• Connect, the consortium comprising Balfour Beatty and Atkins, was appointed preferred bidder on the £130m M77/GSO DBFO road in Scotland 
• Financial close was achieved by Tubelines on the £4.4b programme to upgrade and maintain the infrastructure of the Jubilee, Northern and Piccadilly lines on the London Underground network
• Financial close was achieved by Equion on a £78m project to build 16 new police stations and a new traffic headquarters for the Greater Manchester Police Authority.

“This level of activity reflects the ongoing pace of PPP across areas such as health, defence, law and order, transport, government accomodation and other social infrastructure,” said Brian Marshall, Division Director with Macquarie Bank.

“PPP advisory is a core area of expertise for Macquarie. We have developed specialist skills in this area, bringing technical experience and an innovative approach to the complex financing issues that can accompany PPP transactions”, he said. 

“For example, the Manchester Police transaction builds on our previous experience in law and order, including a £120m deal to build four new London police stations and a £55m deal to build a firearms training facility in Kent for the Metropolitan Police, both completed in 2001. 

“We see significant opportunities ahead and are committed to growing our PPP advisory activities”, Mr Marshall said.

Notes to Editors:
Macquarie Bank provides advisory services and debt and equity underwriting to corporate and government clients. Advisory services include project financing, private finance initiatives (PFI), public private partnerships (PPP), takeovers, mergers & acquisitions, corporate restructuring and other corporate strategic and financial advice. Macquarie was ranked 2nd in the Global Top 10 for advisory in 2002, in the Thomson Financial Project Finance league tables. 

The Macquarie Bank Group provides specialist investment, advisory and financial services in select markets around the world, with 4700 people in 16 countries. The Group comprises Macquarie Bank, Australia’s leading investment bank, and its worldwide affiliated entities. Macquarie has 200 staff based in London, with additional offices in Frankfurt, Munich and Vienna.

For further information please contact:

Brian Marshall
Division Director, Corporate Finance
Macquarie Bank
Tel: +44 (0)20 7065 2073

Alison Jefferis
Corporate Communications
Macquarie Bank
Tel: +44 (0)20 7065 2335
Mob: (0)79 1938 2958

Andrew Waterworth
Financial Dynamics
Tel: +44 (0)20 7269 7127
Mob: (0)7771 740484