Copying and distributing are prohibited without permission of the publisher
Off the rails
06 May 2011
The volume of financings for European high-speed rail projects shows the asset class has arrived. But financing structures have yet to reach full maturity. By Catherine McGuirk
As high-speed rail project financing activity picks across western Europe, there are signs of some convergence between financing structures. EU regulations and the nature of continental rail travel are combining to encourage grantors and sponsors to take a more unified approach, and this flows through to the way deals are financed. But given that one of the main selling points of high-speed rail is its boost to a country’s economic competitiveness, there are limits to the trend towards convergence, even within the EU.
France and Spain are ahead of the curve compared with their near neighbours, Portugal and the UK, which have made recent tracks in the market. But the challenges inherent to rail financings – namely that they rarely earn a respectable return for private sector sponsors – combined with the general restrictions on liquidity and higher costs of debt have resulted in a significant shift to purely availability-based...
Take a free website trial to read this article. It’s easy to get a trial – just follow this link or email info@projectfinancemagazine.com.
Or, if you’re a subscriber or have an active trial, simply log in below to read the article.
Subscribe
Subscribers have unlimited access to all current and archive content. Start your
subscription today - click on the button below.
Subscribe
Free trial
Taking a free trial will give you access to the latest news and analysis, as
well as the online deals database, BenchBase. Start your free trial today.
Free Trial