Articles by McGrigors
30 June 2005
McGrigors lands finance role on school
construction deal
(Published Legal Week)
Leading Scots advisers line up for groundbreaking schools
construction scheme
McGrigors has sealed a high-profile finance role advising on a £150m
project to build 24 new schools in central Scotland, as the Government’s
drive to bring private finance into UK education gains momentum.
The big four Scots firm scored the work, the first Building Schools for the Future (BSF) scheme entirely financed by a bond issue, in early 2004, after winning out over competition from City rivals.
The scheme will be one of the first completed in the UK under BSF, the Government initiative to build schools through PFI.
The schools will be built by Transform Schools, a joint venture between construction company Balfour Beatty and Innisfree, the UK-based infrastructure investment group.
McGrigors advised New York-based XL Capital Assurance, the principal bond guarantor, as well as the lead managers, European Investment Bank (EIB) and the Royal Bank of Canada.
McGrigors head of banking, finance and projects Michael Watson led the team on the deal, the firm’s third major bond finance project this year after closing a similar scheme in Renfrewshire and advising on the Scottish-Northern Irish gas pipeline in March.
The 55-partner firm is also advising on another £100m BSF project in the Highlands, which is due to complete in October. The consortium will build and maintain the schools for a 31-year concession for North Lanarkshire Council.
The deal attracted several other leading Scots firms with Shepherd & Wedderburn projects partner Rhona Harper advising the council while Balfour Beatty regular Tods Murray acted for Transform Schools, fielding a team under partners Ian McPake and Gordon Prestige.
Watson told Legal Week: "A traditional Scots firm might do the Scottish end but it is very unusual for them to handle all the work ahead of the magic circle."
The deal comes as education projects are expected to become more important to PFI advisers, with firms like Norton Rose and Eversheds in recent years acting on school construction projects.
Meanwhile, national giant Pin-sent Masons has landed a role advising Learning21, a joint venture between construction company Costain and education provider VT Group, on its first wave of bids for BSF projects in England and Wales.
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