Coventry council signs £230m street lighting deal
Barclays Corporate and Norddeutsche Landesbank have agreed a joint funding venture for Coventry Council’s £230m street lighting private finance initiative (PFI). The contractor for the project is Connect Roads Coventry, a special purpose vehicle (SPV) of Balfour Beatty.
In the initial investment period of five years, improvements in street lighting and infrastructure is to be delivered including design, installation and maintenance of the 33,000 street lights and 6,000 signs and bollards in the city.
The funding will also provide ongoing maintenance of existing and new equipment over a 25-year period in total.
Funds of around £60m will be provided equally by the two funders. Equity of approximately £6.3m will be provided by Balfour Beatty using an equity bridge facility.
Law firm Eversheds advised both banks and WSP acted as technical advisers to the funders. PwC McClure Naismith (legal) and Atkins (technical) acted for the authority in financial, legal and technical advice respectively. Legal firm Tods Murray advised the sponsors.
