Deals

Challenger Infrastructure to tide over Southern Water with A$26m

England's Southern Water is borrowing money from its shareholders to avoid a liquidity crunch after it was hit by a drop in the retail price index. Challenger, which is a 15% share holder, is providing A$26m towards an £85m loan

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An Australian infrastructure fund has been forced to lend money to an English water company it part owns so that it can renegotiate its bank debt.

In total, Southern Water borrowed £85 million to tide it over, some A$26 million (€13 million; $17 million) of which came from the Sydney-listed Challenger Infrastructure Fund (CIF), which owns a 15.6 percent stake in the water provider.

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The loan has been made, “In order to ensure Southern Water has sufficient headroom under the terms of its debt facilities at 31 March 2009,” CIF said in a letter to the Australia Securities Exchange.

CIF expects the majority of the loan to be repaid before the end of June this year.