Porterbrook completes £250m private placement to refinance 2019 bond maturity

Private Placement backed by a global pool of investors

7 November 2018: Porterbrook, one of the UK’s leading train leasing companies, is delighted to announce the successful refinancing of its £250m, 2019 public bond.

The bond has been refinanced in the private placement market with a new £250m facility raised from a group of US, UK, Canadian and Swiss institutional investors with a significantly improved coupon.

Issued by Porterbrook Rail Finance Limited, the senior secured notes, which mature in 2028, have been rated Baa2 by Moody’s Investors Service.

Stefan Rose, 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. We were encouraged by the investor demand, particularly in the US, and it is clear 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. With our revitalised and strengthened balance sheet, Porterbrook can continue to deliver on our business goals and sustain our position as a vital component of UK rail.”

“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.”

MUFG and NatWest Markets acted as Joint Placement Agents, Rothschild acted as financial adviser to Porterbrook. Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy LLP acted as borrower counsel and Greenberg Traurig acted as investor counsel.