FGP Firstgroup Plc

 
TIDMFGP 
 
FIRSTGROUP PLC 
 
Green hire purchase facility and further bond purchases 
 
FirstGroup plc (the `Group') is pleased to announce that it has signed a new, 
innovative £150m Green Hire Purchase Financing Facility with a syndicate of 
three banks to support the purchase of electric bus bodies (the chassis and 
drivetrain, excluding the battery) (the "Facility"). This follows the strategic 
Joint Venture with Hitachi to purchase up to 1,000 electric bus batteries 
announced by the Group in November 2023. 
 
The Facility provides the funding for electric bus bodies, net of any government 
co-funding received, and is available for drawdown over three years, on a 
competitive fixed margin plus basis.  Funding under the Facility will be 
provided in tenors of either seven or ten years depending on the specific 
requirement at the time for each batch of vehicle bodies to be financed. 
 
Whilst the total number of bus bodies to be financed will depend on a number of 
factors at the Group's discretion, including forward curve pricing, the facility 
has been sized to support the purchase of up to 1,000 electric bus bodies and to 
broadly match the battery arrangements within the Hitachi Joint Venture. 
 
In addition, the Group has continued to opportunistically purchase its 2024 
6.875% bonds resulting in a reduction in future net interest cost. Purchases 
totalling £44.0m have been completed since the end of H1  2024 and as at 17 
January 2024, £128.1m of the 2024 bonds now remain outstanding. 
 
Graham Sutherland, FirstGroup Chief Executive Officer said: 
 
"The innovative Green Hire Purchase Facility we have secured to support the 
purchase of electric buses represents another milestone for the Group. We 
continue to work hard to secure and optimise available funding to deliver on our 
First Bus decarbonisation commitment, build out adjacent electrification 
opportunities and create sustainable value for all our stakeholders." 
 
Legal Entity Identifier (LEI): 549300DEJZCPWA4HKM93. Classification as per DTR 6 
Annex 1R: 3.1. 
 
Contacts at FirstGroup:           Contacts at Brunswick Group: 
Marianna Bowes, Head of Investor  Andrew Porter / Simone Selzer 
Relations 
                                  Tel: +44 (0) 20 7404 5959 
Stuart Butchers, Head of 
Corporate Communications 
 
corporate.comms@firstgroup.co.uk 
 
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7725 3354 
 
Contacts at Liberum Capital       Contacts at RBC Europe Limited: 
Limited: 
Nicholas How / John Fishley       James Agnew / Jamil Miah 
 
Tel: +44 (0) 20 3100 2000         Tel: +44 (0) 20 7653 4000 
 
About FirstGroup 
 
FirstGroup plc (LSE: FGP.L) is a leading private sector provider of public 
transport services. With £4.8 billion in revenue and around 30,000 employees, we 
transported more than 1.8m passengers a day in 2022/23. We create solutions that 
reduce complexity, making travel smoother and life easier. Our businesses are at 
the heart of our communities and the essential services we provide are critical 
to delivering wider economic, social and environmental goals. Each of our 
divisions is a leader in its field: First Bus is the second largest regional bus 
operator in the UK, serving two-thirds of the country's 15 largest conurbations 
with a fleet of more than 4,500 buses, and carrying more than a million 
passengers a day. First Rail is the UK's largest rail operator, with many years 
of experience running long-distance, commuter, regional and sleeper rail 
services. We operate a fleet of more than 3,500 locomotives and rail carriages 
through three management fee-based train operating companies (Avanti West Coast, 
GWR, SWR) and two open access routes (Hull Trains and Lumo). We are formally 
committed to operating a zero-emission First Bus fleet by 2035, and First Rail 
will help support the UK Government's goal to remove all diesel-only trains from 
service by 2040. In February 2023 FirstGroup was named as one of the world's 
cleanest 200 public companies for the fourth consecutive year by sustainable 
business media group Corporate Knights in partnership with US not-for-profit 
organisation, As You Sow. We provide easy and convenient mobility, improving 
quality of life by connecting people and communities. Visit our website at 
www.firstgroupplc.com and follow us @firstgroupplc on X. 
 
 
This information was brought to you by Cision http://news.cision.com 
https://news.cision.com/firstgroup-plc/r/green-hire-purchase-facility-and-further-bond-purchases,c3910710 
 
 
END 
 
 

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

January 17, 2024 02:01 ET (07:01 GMT)

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