HICL Infrastructure Company Limited, the listed infrastructure investment company advised by InfraRed Capital Partners Limited, has acquired three school assets in the UK from Laing O'Rourke.

The assets are the following:

• a 40% interest in the Salford & Wigan Phase 1 BSF project,
• a 40% interest in the Salford & Wigan Phase 2 BSF project and
• a 68% interest in the Newham Schools BSF project.

The three assets have been acquired for a combined consideration of £26.4 million (US$38.9 million). 

Salford & Wigan Phase 1 and Phase 2 are 26-year and 27-year PFI concessions, respectively, to design, build, finance, maintain and operate five new secondary schools in Salford, Greater Manchester on behalf of Salford City Council.

S&W Phase 1 was signed in 2009 and has been fully operational since 2011, while S&W Phase 2 was signed in 2011 and has been fully operational since 2013. Construction of both projects was undertaken by Laing O'Rourke Construction, a subsidiary of Laing O'Rourke.  The provision of hard and soft FM services, including catering, are undertaken by SPIE Facility Services Limited, a subsidiary of SPIE SA Group.

Newham is a 27-year PFI concession to design, build, finance, maintain and operate two new secondary schools in Newham, London on behalf of the London Borough of Newham Council.

The project was signed in 2009 and has been fully operational since 2010, with construction carried out by Laing O'Rourke Construction.  The provision of hard and soft FM services, including catering, is undertaken by Mitie PFI Limited, a subsidiary of Mitie Group Plc.

The acquisitions, which are funded by the group's current cash surplus following the sale of Colchester Garrison MoD PFI project, are in line with the current valuation of similar UK infrastructure projects in the group's portfolio and take the number of investments in the group's portfolio to 100.

James O'Halloran, Investment Director, InfraRed Capital Partners Limited said:

"We are delighted to have completed the acquisition of these fully operational schools projects from Laing O'Rourke and we look forward to developing our relationship with Laing O'Rourke with a view to sourcing additional investment opportunities for the Group.  We are pleased with the schools' build quality and the projects' operational performance. We look forward to working with all stakeholders to ensure the projects continue to deliver the high level of services and facilities expected."