HICL Infrastructure PLC<\/p>\n
\u201cHICL\u201d or \u201cthe Company\u201d and, together with its subsidiaries, \u201cthe Group\u201d, the London-listed infrastructure investment company managed by InfraRed Capital Partners Limited (\u201cInfraRed\u201d or \u201cthe Investment Manager\u201d).<\/p>\n
HICL acquires additional stake in Cross London Trains for c.\u00a352m<\/p>\n
Additional 6.65% interest acquired in Cross London Trains (\u201cXLT\u201d) for c.\u00a352m<\/p>\n
Increases HICL\u2019s total interest to 13.13%, improving governance position and board representation at the portfolio company level<\/p>\n
Additional investment expected to add in excess of 1.0p to NAV per share on completion of the transaction<\/p>\n
Expected return and yield make this transaction an appropriate deployment of capital in line with HICL\u2019s strategic priorities<\/p>\n
Continued focus on disciplined, balanced capital allocation, consistent with HICL\u2019s active approach to portfolio evolution <\/p>\n
HICL has also increased the rate of share repurchases following the recently announced A63 Motorway disposal, recognising the prevailing share price discount to NAV<\/p>\n
Mike Bane, Chair of HICL, said:<\/p>\n
\u201cThis investment demonstrates the Board\u2019s disciplined and balanced approach to capital deployment. Increasing our stake in XLT enhances HICL\u2019s governance position in a high\u2011quality, operational asset and\u00a0supports long\u2011term NAV per share growth. The transaction is also expected to deliver\u00a0compelling NAV accretion and incremental income.\u201d<\/p>\n
Edward Hunt, Head of Core Infrastructure Funds at InfraRed, said:<\/p>\n
\u201cThis transaction reflects InfraRed\u2019s ability to act nimbly and decisively as opportunities arise organically in the Company\u2019s portfolio, a proven source of value for HICL. By increasing the Company\u2019s ownership and governance influence, we are well positioned to continue generating value from a resilient, high\u2011performing asset within a critical part of the UK\u2019s transport network.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Board of HICL is pleased to announce that the Company has agreed to acquire a further 6.65% interest in XLT for approximately \u00a352 million.<\/p>\n
XLT owns and originally delivered the fleet of 115 Siemens Desiro City Class 700 electric trains operating on the Thameslink passenger rail route. This is one of the UK\u2019s most important transport corridors, covering the North-South London commuter axis and serving major hubs including St Pancras International, Gatwick Airport, and Luton Airport.<\/p>\n
The fleet was initially leased in 2016 under a 20-year availability contract with a revenue underpin from the Secretary of State for Transport. At the end of this period, ownership will remain with shareholders, and the fleet is expected to be re-leased on commercial terms. Long-term maintenance obligations are retained by the manufacturer, Siemens, under a direct contractual arrangement with the operator, Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR), and therefore sit outside of the project company\u2019s delivery obligations. The rolling stock is fully operational, bespoke to the route\u2019s infrastructure and has demonstrated a strong performance track record.<\/p>\n
The acquisition increases HICL\u2019s total economic interest in XLT to 13.13%, strengthening the Company\u2019s governance position and board representation at the portfolio company level. This enhanced influence supports InfraRed\u2019s active asset management approach and creates further opportunity to drive long\u2011term value from a high\u2011quality, operational asset.<\/p>\n
The attractive price at which the stake has been acquired is expected to increase the Company\u2019s NAV per share by at least 1.0p following completion of the transaction. The price reflects the minority position being divested and HICL\u2019s rights through its existing shareholding in XLT. Consistent with the Board\u2019s disciplined approach to capital allocation, the investment was assessed against alternative uses of capital, including the repurchase of the Company\u2019s shares.\u00a0The Board is satisfied that the expected return and yield from this incremental investment, and the opportunity afforded to increase HICL\u2019s investment and governance rights in a high-performing critical asset, make this an appropriate deployment of capital in line with HICL\u2019s strategic priorities.<\/p>\n
Completion of the transaction is expected before the end of June 2026, subject to customary third-party consents.<\/p>\n
The acquisition will be funded from the proceeds of recently completed disposals. The Company continues to benefit from a number of live capital rotation opportunities as part of HICL\u2019s active approach to enhancing portfolio composition and long-term shareholder returns; and the Board will continue to evaluate such opportunities on a case-by-case basis within the broader context of its capital allocation considerations.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"HICL Infrastructure PLC \u201cHICL\u201d or \u201cthe Company\u201d and, together with its subsidiaries, \u201cthe Group\u201d, the London-listed infrastructure investment…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":523,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[26],"tags":[370,371,27,18,372],"class_list":["post-522","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-london","tag-hicl","tag-investment","tag-london","tag-news","tag-update"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/522","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=522"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/522\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/523"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=522"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=522"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=522"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}