Karolinska Hospital refi achieves significant margin cut

Swedish Hospital Partners (SHP) – a joint venture between Skanska and Innisfree – has refinanced the debt backing the New Karolinska Solna Hospital PPP project in Sweden following completion of construction in 2017.

Originally project financed in 2010, and the first hospital PPP in Sweden, the debt has been reduced to SEK3 billion ($350 million) from SEK5.1 billion in conjunction with a margin cut to 140bp from 215bp. The lenders remaining in the refinancing are the EIB, Nordic Investment Bank, SEB, Nordea, Svenska Handelsbanken and KfW.

Concession grantor Stockholm County Council agreed to make a SEK3 bil­lion one-time pay­ment to SHP un­der its project agree­ment, which SHP ap­plied to­wards the pre­pay­ment and paying off swaps on the debt. The re­fi­nanc­ing will low­er the fi­nanc­ing costs for the council by SEK2.1 bil­lion.

The advisory line-up for the refinancing comprises Newbridge Advisers for the sponsor along with legal counsel from Hamilton; Mannheimer Swartling for Stockholm County Council, and Vinge as lender counsel.