Greenwich NatWest recently priced the first securitization to finance the construction of a Welsh hospital. The GBP65.95 million ($97.8 million) single tranche deal – called Baglon Moor Healthcare Plc. – will enable Baglon Moor Healthcare to build and provide services for the new hospital in Neath, South Wales, on behalf of Brow Morgannwg NHS Trust.
Construction company Tilbury Douglas has been brought in to build the plants and additional services will be the responsibility of Caxton Facilities Management. Construction is scheduled for completion in 2002.
Monoline insurer Financial Security Assurance wrapped the bonds to bring them up from low investment grade to a triple-A rating. Both Moody’s Investors Service and Standard & Poor’s rated the deal.
The guaranteed index-linked bonds priced at 185 basis points over the 2016 Gilt. An annual coupon of 3.92% will be paid on the notes until the construction period ends, after which amortization will take over until the bonds mature in 2029.
A project finance official at GNW said the deal had been a success. “It went very well,” he said. “It was bought mainly by pension funds and insurance companies; the normal investors who buy long-dated sterling notes. The vast majority of take-up came from U.K. investors.”