BAM PPP reaches financial close on West Dunbartonshire PPP schools project

Bunnik, 24 January 2008 – BAM PPP has reached financial close on West Dunbartonshire Council’s £105m PPP schools project. BAM PPP is sponsoring the deal with its sister company HBG UK providing an integrated solution with HBG Construction as building contractor, HBG Design as a key member of the design team and HBG Facilities Management providing operational and maintenance services throughout the 30 year operational concession.

The contract will provide new-build replacement facilities for four schools. Sustainability is at the heart of the design and operation of the schools with geothermal heating at all sites and designed to achieve the highest Building Research Establishment sustainability rating of ‚BREEAM‘ Excellent‘. The schools are:

• the 1,100 pupil Vale of Leven Academy,
• 1,500 pupil Clydebank High School,
• 1,500 pupil St Peter the Apostle High (an amalgamation of St Columba’s High School and St Andrew’s High School on the site of St Columba’s) and
• the 442 pupil St Eunan’s Primary School / Early Education & Childcare Centre (co-located with the St Peter the Apostle High School).

The schools are all of distinct and bespoke design with each school responding to its educational needs, site characteristics and particular stakeholder requirements. All of the schools will have extended opening during evenings and weekends to provide high quality facilities for community use.

Work will commence this month with the new high schools opening in the summer of 2009 and the primary school in the autumn of 2010.

BAM PPP is providing 100% of the £8m equity investment required while Dexia is providing £97m of senior debt.

Robert Young, Projects Director BAM PPP, said: ‚We are absolutely delighted to have reached financial close on this very exciting project and look forward to delivering and operating these excellent schools in Clydebank and Vale of Leven in partnership with the Council and the individual schools‘.

BAM PPP invests in and manages PPP projects on behalf of Royal BAM. Currently BAM PPP has more than 25 PPP projects in its portfolio, 19 of which are operational. BAM PPP is active in the UK, The Netherlands, Belgium, Ireland and Germany in the education, health, law & order, road and rail PPP sectors. HBG Construction Ltd and HBG Facilities Management Ltd are business units of HBG UK Ltd. HBG UK Ltd is one of the UK’s leading construction services organisations, with a turnover exceeding £1 billion. It operates throughout the UK from regional centres in Glasgow, Edinburgh, Bristol, Cardiff, Coventry, Leeds, London, St Albans, Manchester and Newcastle. BAM PPP and HBG UK Ltd are wholly owned subsidiaries of Royal BAM Group, a worldwide construction services company turning over more than €9 billion that is listed on Euronext Amsterdam.

Further information:

• Press: A.C. Pronk, 31 (0)30 659 86 21;
• Analysts: P. Juge, 31 (0)30 659 86 01.