REG-FirstGroup Plc: Green Hire Purchase Facility and further bond purchases

FirstgroupAnnouncement

17/01/2024 07:15

FIRSTGROUP PLC

Green hire purchase facility and further bond purchases

FirstGroup plc (the `Group') is pleased to announce that it has signed a new,
innovative £150m Green Hire Purchase Financing Facility with a syndicate of
three banks to support the purchase of electric bus bodies (the chassis and
drivetrain, excluding the battery) (the "Facility"). This follows the
strategic Joint Venture with Hitachi to purchase up to 1,000 electric bus
batteries announced by the Group in November 2023.

The Facility provides the funding for electric bus bodies, net of any
government co-funding received, and is available for drawdown over three
years, on a competitive fixed margin plus basis.  Funding under the Facility
will be provided in tenors of either seven or ten years depending on the
specific requirement at the time for each batch of vehicle bodies to be
financed.

Whilst the total number of bus bodies to be financed will depend on a number
of factors at the Group's discretion, including forward curve pricing, the
facility has been sized to support the purchase of up to 1,000 electric bus
bodies and to broadly match the battery arrangements within the Hitachi Joint
Venture.

In addition, the Group has continued to opportunistically purchase its 2024
6.875% bonds resulting in a reduction in future net interest cost. Purchases
totalling £44.0m have been completed since the end of H1  2024 and as at 17
January 2024, £128.1m of the 2024 bonds now remain outstanding.

 

Graham Sutherland, FirstGroup Chief Executive Officer said:

"The innovative Green Hire Purchase Facility we have secured to support the
purchase of electric buses represents another milestone for the Group. We
continue to work hard to secure and optimise available funding to deliver on
our First Bus decarbonisation commitment, build out adjacent electrification
opportunities and create sustainable value for all our stakeholders."

 

 

Legal Entity Identifier (LEI): 549300DEJZCPWA4HKM93. Classification as per DTR
6 Annex 1R: 3.1.

 

 Contacts at FirstGroup:                                                                                                                                  Contacts at Brunswick Group:                             
 Marianna Bowes, Head of Investor Relations Stuart Butchers, Head of Corporate Communications corporate.comms@firstgroup.co.uk Tel: +44 (0) 20 7725 3354  Andrew Porter / Simone Selzer Tel: +44 (0) 20 7404 5959  
                                                                                                                                                                                                                   
 Contacts at Liberum Capital Limited:                                                                                                                     Contacts at RBC Europe Limited:                          
 Nicholas How / John Fishley Tel: +44 (0) 20 3100 2000                                                                                                    James Agnew / Jamil Miah Tel: +44 (0) 20 7653 4000       
                                                                                                                                                                                                                   

 
 
 
About FirstGroup
FirstGroup plc (LSE: FGP.L) is a leading private sector provider of public
transport services. With £4.8 billion in revenue and around 30,000 employees,
we transported more than 1.8m passengers a day in 2022/23. We create solutions
that reduce complexity, making travel smoother and life easier. Our businesses
are at the heart of our communities and the essential services we provide are
critical to delivering wider economic, social and environmental goals. Each of
our divisions is a leader in its field: First Bus is the second largest
regional bus operator in the UK, serving two-thirds of the country's 15
largest conurbations with a fleet of more than 4,500 buses, and carrying more
than a million passengers a day. First Rail is the UK's largest rail operator,
with many years of experience running long-distance, commuter, regional and
sleeper rail services. We operate a fleet of more than 3,500 locomotives and
rail carriages through three management fee-based train operating companies
(Avanti West Coast, GWR, SWR) and two open access routes (Hull Trains and
Lumo). We are formally committed to operating a zero-emission First Bus fleet
by 2035, and First Rail will help support the UK Government's goal to remove
all diesel-only trains from service by 2040. In February 2023 FirstGroup was
named as one of the world's cleanest 200 public companies for the fourth
consecutive year by sustainable business media group Corporate Knights in
partnership with US not-for-profit organisation, As You Sow. We provide easy
and convenient mobility, improving quality of life by connecting people and
communities. Visit our website at www.firstgroupplc.com and follow us
@firstgroupplc on X.

 

 



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