Dundas & Wilson has acted for Scottish & Southern Energy in a £230 million deal to supply street lighting to three English local authorities - the largest-ever deal of its kind and the first time three UK PFI projects have closed simultaneously.
A consortium led by SSE, trading as Tay Valley Lighting, closed the South Coast Street Lighting PFI Scheme just 16 weeks after being selected as preferred bidder by Hampshire County Council, West Sussex County Council, and Southampton City Council.
The D&W projects team, led by Fiona Scott and Lynn Pentland, advised on the 25-year deal, which will include the installation of approximately 145,500 new street lights over a five-year period from April 1 next year and the maintenance of the entire street lighting estates for the remainder of the contract.
The innovative scheme also includes new eco-friendly remote monitoring apparatus in Southampton and Hampshire, which enables the street lights to be controlled and dimmed remotely to save energy.
Michael McAuley, Head of Projects, said: “This was a very ambitious project, particularly given the tight timescale of 14 weeks from preferred bidder appointment to financial close, but everyone involved worked extremely hard to make sure we were able to bring it to a successful conclusion.
Completing both the biggest-ever street lighting PFI and the first time three PFI projects have closed at the same time is a good way to finish the year, and shows the expertise and resources D&W can deploy on a deal of this scale.”
The project was funded by Lloyds and Nationwide.
Derrick Allan, Business Development Manager at SSE, said: “This is a very important piece of work for the three local authorities
and a great win for the Tay Valley Lighting consortium.
We’re delighted to be able to deliver such an innovative project under the South Coast PFI Scheme and look forward to working with our partners in the joint authorities over the coming years.”
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