Rubicon sells The Convention Centre Dublin concession contract

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Rubicon sells The Convention Centre Dublin concession contract

Rubicon Infrastructure Advisors has advised Spencer Dock Development Company Limited (SDDC) on the close of the Dublin Convention Centre PPP project transaction.

Pursuant to a competitive sale process initiated in October 2014 and managed by the sole sell side financial advisor, Rubicon Infrastructure Advisors, financial close for the sale of the Convention Centre Dublin concession contract and related assets has been achieved.

The Irish Infrastructure Fund (IIF),which is managed by Irish Life Investment Managers together with AMP Capital as the Fund's infrastructure investment manager, is the buyer of the group of related assets, which primarily consist of the following:

  • The concession contract to operate and maintain The Convention Centre Dublin (CCD);
  • Long term lease of the 321-space car park that is located underneath The CCD; and
  • The license to build and operate an approximately 330-bed hotel on a site adjacent to The CCD.

The CCD was developed as a public-private partnership (PPP) with the Irish Government.  It is a State-owned building and is operated under a concession contract that has 20 years remaining. The concession contract allows the licensee to collect a performance-based payment for the proper maintenance and operation of the building along with trading revenue generated from events hosted at The CCD.  Both the car park and the potential hotel serve to enhance the attractiveness of The CCD as a conference venue.

The CCD, which has been trading profitably since commencing operations in September 2010, has recently celebrated its 1,000th event and has hosted more than 1 million delegate days.  Recently, The CCD has secured 120 events, including 25 international conferences, booked for future years from 2015 to 2018.  These 25 conferences range in size from 500 to 2,000 delegates and are forecast to generate more than €30 million for the local economy.

Given the successful trading history of The CCD and Ireland's positive growth prospects, Rubicon received strong interest from a wide range of institutional investors that seek to invest in infrastructure assets with robust operational track records.

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