Angel Trains to refinance 665 Bombardier Aventra vehicles

Angel Trains Group has secured £835 million of new funding to refinance the procurement of 665 Bombardier Aventra vehicles that will be leased to Abellio Greater Anglia franchise from 2019.

This senior debt has been raised from a diverse group of lenders with a maturity longer than the initial franchise term and has been placed outside the credit-rated group. The transaction was arranged directly by Angel Trains and Ashurst. Derwin Jenkinson was the legal advisor to Angel Trains.

Owing to this innovative financing, together with other recent debt issuance of circa £300 million, Angel Trains’ refinance risk will be significantly reduced and headroom for further investment within the rated senior ring-fence will also be available. This approach means that Angel Trains has capacity and an appetite to compete in the new build and refurbished passenger trains market.

Malcolm Brown, Angel Trains CEO, said: “Our innovative refinancing model further emphasises Angel Trains’ ability to effectively and competitively manage our portfolio, reduce risk and create an attractive proposition to funders. We are delighted to have raised over £1.1 billion from the debt markets over the last three months. It paves the way for new projects and provides an increased capacity for Angel Trains’ continued investment in the UK rail industry.

“This further demonstrates Angel Trains’ role as a conduit between the finance community and the operational railway. Our ability to offer whole–life asset management allows us to continue to build, refurbish and improve our assets across the UK railways. We also utilise expertise across multi disciplines from engineering, project management, commercial and finance which increases investor confidence whilst providing best value to passengers.”