UK: Rolling stock financier Porterbrook has acquired Corelink Rail Infrastructure Ltd, which owns 324 Alstom Class 730 Aventra EMU cars and 80 CAF Class 196 DMU cars leased to operator West Midlands Trains.
Corelink was previously a joint venture between the Infracapital infrastructure equity investment arm of M&G and the Pan-European Infrastructure II fund managed by independent listed asset manager DWS Group.
It was formed in 2017 to finance the two orders for new rolling stock totalling £680m which were placed as part of the award of the West Midland franchise to Abellio, JR East and Mitsui.
‘We are proud to have established Corelink with DWS, delivering a modern and energy-efficient fleet that provides a reliable commuter experience across the West Midlands rail network’, said Infracapital Managing Director Tom Crawley when the acquisition by Porterbrook was announced on January 8. ‘We believe Porterbrook is well-positioned to continue supporting Corelink’s mission to deliver dependable and sustainable rail transport in the UK.’
Hamish Mackenzie, partner and Global Head of Infrastructure at DWS, said ‘the successful sale of Corelink by Pan-European Infrastructure II showcases DWS’s experience across the transportation sector and its active asset management expertise’.
Porterbrook CEO Mary Grant said ‘West Midlands Trains has been one of our largest customers for over 15 years and this latest transaction solidifies that partnership for the future. It also completes a programme of more than £1bn of capital deployed during the last five years in new trains, fleet upgrades, traction innovation and rail infrastructure.’
Porterbrook was advised by CA-CIB (financial), Freeths (legal) and Deloitte (tax). Infracapital and DWS were advised by DC Advisory (financial) and Eversheds Sutherland (legal).
