PwC Debt & Capital Advisory team acts as debt advisor to The Go-Ahead Group on its refinancing
PwC Debt & Capital Advisory (“PwC DCA”) is pleased to announce that it acted as debt advisor to The Go-Ahead Group Limited (“Go-Ahead”) on its refinancing.
The new debt facilities provide a long-term financing structure, which refinanced existing debt facilities and support the existing operations, whilst giving committed funding to implement the group's corporate strategy over the next five years. The group's strategy is centred around a long-term decarbonisation plan and growing the business, both organically and through acquisition.
Go-Ahead is one of the UK’s leading public transport operators, employing 27,000 people across its bus and rail operations in Britain, Singapore, Ireland, Sweden, Norway, Germany and Australia. In the UK, the group operates a quarter of London’s buses and has a network of regional bus companies outside the capital. On rail provision, Go-Ahead runs the UK’s largest railway franchise, Govia Thameslink Rail Franchise, which consists of Thameslink, Great Northern, Southern and Gatwick Express services, through a joint venture with Keolis.
Go-Ahead was taken private in October 2022 through a joint venture between Kinetic, a leading Australian and NZ bus operator, and Globalvia, a Spanish infrastructure investor.
Out of its 5,925-strong fleet of UK buses, Go-Ahead has 474 zero-emission vehicles, with another 512 in the pipeline, making it the largest operator of electric buses in the UK. Go-Ahead is committed to deploying a zero-emission fleet by 2035. The shareholders, Kinetic and Globalvia, bring in their expertise from around the globe: Kinetic is a major bus operator in Australia and New Zealand with extensive electrification experience, and Globalvia is a leading ESG infrastructure business with a presence in Spain, Portugal, Ireland, USA, Costa Rica and Chile.
The bank debt facilities were arranged and underwritten by an international consortium of banks, with Rabobank, Standard Chartered and KfW IPEX-Bank acting as Joint Global Coordinators, Bookrunners, Underwriters & Initial Mandated Lead Arrangers. Cornerstone lenders comprised of HSBC UK, The Royal Bank of Scotland and Export Development Canada. The bank facilities were over-subscribed and have been successfully syndicated.
The new committed debt facilities also include a 7 year private placement note provided by Pricoa Private Capital.
The PwC DCA team was led by David Godbee, who was supported by a UK team, including Chris Tilbrook, Sandeep Pradhan, George Lane and Keira Leszczynski, and Stephen Hyman from PwC DCA’s Australian business.
Go-Ahead was also supported on this complex refinancing transaction by a multi-disciplinary team from across PwC’s deals and tax businesses, including specialists covering financial and tax due diligence, pension advisory, tax structuring, modelling, accounting advisory and post-deal cost savings.
“Achieving completion for a complex refinancing transaction of this scale in the current market environment was always going to have some challenges. PwC helped us to navigate these challenges, proposed alternative options and provided continuous support to our integrated group and shareholder deal team.”
“Go-Ahead plays a vital role in supporting social and economic activity in the communities where we operate, helping people connect with each other and to where they want to go. The PwC team was critical to the successful delivery of this refinancing transaction, offering a one-stop shop of specialists across each of the workstreams to help deliver a financing solution that will support the delivery of our strategic growth plans.”
“Our team is extremely proud to have advised Go-Ahead and its shareholders on this important refinancing transaction, which will support the group’s growth ambitions and its leading role in the UK and abroad in the electrification of bus networks.”
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