S&P rates Aggregator Vehicle bonds, loan A-

Standard & Poor’s said it assigned a preliminary A- long-term debt ratings to £63.5 million of senior secured fixed-rate bonds due 2040 and a £63.5 million senior secured fixed-rate bank loan due 2040 from the European Investment Bank to be issued by Aggregator Vehicle plc.

The outlook is stable.

The issuer is ultimately owned by International Public Partnerships Ltd., a publicly listed infrastructure fund managed by Amber Infrastructure Ltd., S&P said.

Following the financial close of the first schools project March 10, the issuer will provide the senior debt funding to a second project. It will do this by on-lending the proceeds of the bond and loan, S&P said, and proceeds from a mezzanine loan ultimately provided by International Public Partnerships to HLR Schools Ltd. HLR Schools will enter into an availability-based project agreement with the Secretary of State for Education to design, construct and operate the second batch of schools.

The issuer will receive debt-service payments from HLR Schools, which it will use to service the bonds and loan, the agency said.

Although the issuer is indirectly exposed to construction and operation risks, its senior debt will benefit from the credit enhancement constituted by the mezzanine loan, S&P said.

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