A study by Partnerships UK (PUK) has found that there is a healthy diversity in the PFI market among project sponsors, contractors, lenders and advisors for 143 projects with a capital value of £13.6bn reaching financial close between April 2004 and March 2007.

‘PFI: The State of the Market’ report also charts the size and shape of the overall PFI market since its inception and demonstrates the wide range of areas in which PFI has contributed to the delivery of public services and the wide range of active market participants.

Speaking at a UK PPP Infrastructure Financing Conference in London, PUK Executive Director, Andrew Rose said:

“It is important that the UK has a well-informed market for PPP projects. 

“PUK’s state of the market report provides an important source of data assisting the public policy makers and private sector practitioners, principals and advisors. 

“By capturing the trends in key areas, in terms of development of the market over time and across sectors, as well as specific areas such as sources of finance, there is a now a wide body of information on the core PFI market.” 

The report focuses on the size and activity of the market, including:

• breakdown of projects by department, size, sector, timelines and capital value;
• regional variations;
• financing arrangements : an analysis of transaction size and financing route;
• main industry participants; and
• the advisory market.

The report covers two specific periods.  The first captures the entire population of projects on the PUK database for the twelve years April 1995 – March 2007 covering 751 projects with a total capital value of £37.6bn.  The second focuses on projects that achieved financial close April 2004 – March 2007 and, in line with PUK’s data collection service, comprises an increased level of empirical information.

The analysis of advisors is based on combined public sector and private sector activity, and the relevant charts show the split between work on each side.

The information is collected and used to assist HM Treasury, procuring authorities and market practitioners in a range of contexts.

NOTES TO EDITORS

1. Partnerships UK (PUK) is a Public Private partnership with a public sector mission : to support and accelerate the delivery of infrastructure renewal, high quality public services and the efficient use of public assets through better and stronger partnerships between the public and private sectors.
2. PUK launched the Projects Database in March 2005. The ‘PFI : The State of the Market’ Report is a PUK publication and presents some of the information collected to date as part of the Government’s commitment to increasing transparency.
3. The first part of the report is less comprehensive than the second part. This is because PUK’s database is a recent innovation and its resources are The information presented in the report is based on data provided to PUK on a voluntary basis. While PUK does have quality-control processes over its data collection, it cannot guarantee its accuracy.
4. Copies of the report can be found at the Partnerships UK website – www.partnershipsuk.org.uk
5. Media calls to Malcolm Graves at Partnerships UK on 07785 316773. Public enquiry calls to Partnerships UK on 010 7273 8383.