Completion of investment acquisition by HICL

The Project is a £74m PFI scheme procured by the Scottish Prison Service to design, build, finance and operate a new maximum security prison at Addiewell, West Lothian, Scotland. The Project reached financial close in June 2006 with construction successfully completed on time at the end of 2008 and the prison officially open for use thereafter. The concession is for a total of 25 years from the end of construction.

Construction was undertaken by Interserve Project Services Limited, a subsidiary of Interserve plc. Hard and soft operational services, including provision of custodial staff and lifecycle obligations are being undertaken by Sodexo Justice Services Limited, a subsidiary of Sodexo SA, under a full concession life contract.

The consideration paid by the Group is in line with the current valuations of similar U.K. PFI projects in the Group’s portfolio and brings the total number of infrastructure investments within the Group’s portfolio to 83. The acquisition was funded from the Group’s existing cash and debt resources.

James O’Halloran, Investment Director, Infrastructure at InfraRed Capital Partners Limited (HICL’s Investment Adviser) said:

We are delighted to reach agreement with the vendor and the Scottish Prison Service to acquire the Interest in the Project, which we have been working on for a year. Our due diligence has confirmed the high quality of the facilities and the excellent relationships that exist between the public and private sectors which have contributed to the strong operational performance.

We are looking forward to working with all the stakeholders to ensure the Project continues to be successful