UK rail investment consortium joined by Greater Manchester, LPFA

The £500m (€570m) infrastructure investment co-operation between the Greater Manchester Pension Fund and the London Pensions Fund Authority (LPFA), GLIL, has partnered with a consortium to fund rail fleets for Abellio East Anglia. GLIL will put forward £45m of equity to the group alongside Standard Life’s SL Capital and RockRail, enabling 58 trains with 387 carriages to increase rail capacity by up to 78% for Norfolk and Suffolk. Senior debt is being supplied by a group of UK and international institutional investors, together with the European Investment Bank, which separately said it put forward €60m. Long-term debt is coming from Legal & General Retirement (LGR) and LGIM clients. Nicholas Bamber, head of private credit at LGIM Real Assets said, “There is a considerable need in the UK for new rolling stock to reduce overcrowding and improve train services, and our clients have a significant appetite to finance such assets.”