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:
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Contacts at
Brunswick Group:
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Marianna
Bowes, Head of Investor Relations
Stuart
Butchers, Head of Corporate Communications
corporate.comms@firstgroup.co.uk
Tel: +44
(0) 20 7725 3354
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Andrew
Porter / Simone Selzer
Tel: +44
(0) 20 7404 5959
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Contacts at
Liberum Capital Limited:
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Contacts at
RBC Europe Limited:
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Nicholas
How / John Fishley
Tel: +44
(0) 20 3100 2000
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James Agnew
/ Jamil Miah
Tel: +44
(0) 20 7653 4000
|
|
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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.