10th Feb 2021 10:06
(Alliance News) - Applegreen PLC on Wednesday said its submitted financial plan for the conditional lease signed by Empire State Thruway Partners has been approved by New York State Thruway Authority.
Applegreen, an operator of petrol stations and motorway stops in Ireland, the UK and the US was awarded a conditional 33-year lease for the design, construction, financing, operation and maintenance of the 27 motorway service areas on the New York State Thruway back in September.
In addition, the final agreement has been approved by the New York State Office of the State Comptroller and by the New York State Attorney General.
As a result, the structure of the consortium, which Applegreen is a part of with its partner Empire State Thruway Partners, has been amended, with Applegreen now becoming the sole investor and consortium lead. Applegreen said it has the ability to add another party to the consortium after the financial close, subject to the approval of New York State Thruway.
Applegreen said the estimated cost of the New York Service Areas redevelopment is USD301 million, which will be funded by a combination of equity by Applegreen and a private activity bond.
The final split between equity contribution and the bond proceeds are to be finalised before financial close. It is expected the equity will be funded from debt resources and is not expected to be drawn down until between 2023 and 2025, it added.
"Following financial close, which is expected to happen in the first quarter of 2021, Empire State Thruway Partners will commence food and retail operations on six of the sites and redevelopment work will commence on 10 of the sites, which is expected to last between eight and 15 months. As the redeveloped sites come on stream, redevelopment work will start on the remaining sites with redevelopment expected to be completed by mid-2025," said Applegreen.
Applegreen agreed in December to a takeover offer made by the Causeway Consortium, a company owned by Blackstone Infrastructure Partners, managed by Blackstone Group Inc, and B&J Holdings Ltd in December.
B&J is wholly owned by Applegreen founders Robert Etchingham and Joseph Barrett, and already owns 41% of Applegreen.
Shares in Applegreen were untraded at 502.50 pence in London on Wednesday.
By Zoe Wickens; [email protected]
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