Steer provides LTA services to support the A465 sections 5 & 6 dualling financial close

On 28 October 2020, the Future Valleys Consortium (led by FCC and Meridiam and supported by Roadbridge, Alun Griffiths, and Atkins) reached financial close on the circa GBP 550m design, build, finance, operate, and maintain A465 section 5 & 6 road project in Wales, United Kingdom. The A465 project is the first project to be procured by the Welsh Government under the Mutual Investment Model (MIM).

Steer provided Lenders’ Technical Advisory (LTA) services to support international lenders (banks and institutional investors), and our role will continue with LTA monitoring services during the construction period (approx. 4.5 years) and during the 30-year operational period.

The A465 section 5 & 6 project consists of improvement works for 17.3km of the A465 trunk road between Dowlais Top and Hirwaun, from a 3-lane single carriageway to a double 2-lane carriageway. It is the final phase in the 40km upgrade of the A465 between Abergavenny in the east to Hirwaun in the west, or the “Heads of the Valleys” dualling scheme, which has been underway since 2002. The scheme is aimed at supporting economic regeneration, improving traffic flow, and enhancing road safety by providing opportunities for safer overtaking and provisions for cyclists and pedestrians. 

The dualling of the A465 section 5 & 6 entails mostly online road construction and includes:

• Six new grade-separated junctions;
• Four new viaducts and refurbishment of five existing viaducts over watercourses or deep valleys;
• 26 new overbridges, underbridges, underpasses, and footbridges;
• 50 new retaining walls;
• 32 new or extended culverts; and
• attenuation ponds to control the discharge and reduce the risk of pollution to watercourses.

Diego Tripodi, Project Director, and Technical Due Diligence (TDD) Lead said: “As the leading independent technical advisor in PPP transport infrastructure projects across the world, we provide technical advice, underpinned by technical excellence, to lenders and investors to enable informed decision-making for successful infrastructure investments. The A465 section 5 & 6 is an amazing project that builds upon Steer’s growing portfolio of LTA/TDD commissions in the UK (such as M25 London Orbital acquisition; M6toll sale; M1-A1 Link Road acquisition; Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route acquisition), the wider Europe and around the world. It was a pleasure to provide LTA services to the Consortium, its lenders, and the other strategic advisors, and contribute to bringing this project to a successful financial close.”

Our TDD services are provided in the primary and secondary markets across Europe, India, Latin America, and North America through our coordinated international team of advisors. Contact our TDD team to discuss how we could help create the conditions for a successful project finance-related transaction, whether in the primary or secondary (i.e. mergers and acquisitions, refinancing, etc.) markets.

We are uniquely placed to provide strategic advisory services by combining our TDD services with our traffic and revenue forecasting and financial advisory services.