Balfour Beatty offloads hospital project in £61.5m deal
BALFOUR Beatty, the international infrastructure group, has sold its 50% stake in the Pinderfields and Pontefract Hospital public-private partnership (PPP) project in West Yorkshire.
Pinderfields is being acquired by the current co-shareholder, a subsidiary of HICL Infrastructure Company, the listed infrastructure investment company advised by InfraRed Capital Partners.
The consideration of £61.5m exceeded management’s expectations, said Balfour, generating a gain on disposal of £42.2m.
The proceeds exceed the revised directors’ valuation by £13.5m, representing an uplift of 28%.
In August, Balfour Beatty published a review of the directors’ valuation of the PPP portfolio, which resulted in the UK portfolio valuation increasing by 63% to £801m, and the total portfolio increasing in value by 46% to £1,051 million, as at June 2014.
Ian Rylatt, CEO of Balfour Beatty Investments, said: “This disposal supports the substantial increase in the directors’ valuation of the PPP portfolio, whilst also demonstrating that the valuation maintains a level of prudence.
“We continue to see a strong pipeline of opportunities and therefore, in line with our strategy of recycling equity, the proceeds will be invested in new projects as we continue to diversify our business.”
