Centrus advises Portsmouth Water on £325m investment for first UK reservoir in 30 years

Transaction Overview 

Portsmouth Water has secured £325 million in investments to construct the first major new reservoir in the UK since the 1980s. 

Havant Thicket Reservoir is an environmentally led project that will play a key role in protecting internationally-rare chalk rivers, by providing additional water supplies and resilience to the South of England. As well as supplying a vital new source of water in the face of climate change and a rapidly growing population, the reservoir will offer a new green leisure facility for the local area. This will include a wetland, visitor centre and network of footpaths, cycle routes and bridleways.

Centrus’ Role

• Centrus undertook a holistic capital structure review and supported Portsmouth Water in designing a financing plan to create a robust capital structure throughout the construction of the Havant Thicket Reservoir​. This included securing assurance regarding the likely impact of the financing plan on credit ratings.  
• Centrus supported the business through a procurement process to secure competitively priced and structured capital to fully finance the investment; and 
• Our team managed a consent process with creditors to ensure that the terms of the financing platform were adapted to cater for the structure of the regulatory support received from OFWAT, the company’s economic regulator.

Outcome 

The banks giving their support to the environmentally driven scheme include existing lenders ING, Lloyds, Nat West, and Siemens Bank. Portsmouth Water has also secured a £50m commitment from the UK Infrastructure Bank, in the first investment of its kind for the sector, and is issuing a new £75m CPI-linked bond guaranteed by Assured Guaranty and purchased by abrdn and Pension Insurance Corporation. This is in addition to the equity commitment of £150m that has been secured from shareholders and was announced last month.

More information about Havant Thicket Reservoir can be found here: https://havant-thicket-reservoir.uk.engagementhq.com/ 

“We are delighted to have secured the £325 million investment required to construct Havant Thicket Reservoir. This will be the first large scale water storage reservoir to be built in the UK since the 1980s. 

It will play a key role in protecting internationally important chalk rivers – the River Test and the River Itchen, by securing a new, sustainable source of water for the region. This is an exciting time for the project. We have recently taken a major step forward in awarding the main reservoir works contract and, with all capital and investment now secured, look forward to work progressing on site.” 

Bob Taylor, Chief Executive Officer – Portsmouth Water

“As a B Corporation, Centrus is passionate about delivering solutions for a sustainable future. We are pleased to have supported Portsmouth Water in securing funding for Havant Thicket Reservoir which will have a positive impact on both the local environment and community, embodying our ethos of ‘Finance with Purpose’” .

Geoff Knight, Managing Director – Centrus

For more information, please contact Geoff Knight, Managing Director at Centrus

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