Our People
Joined Rock Rail March 2020
Jim is an experienced global financier with a strong track record for structuring complex infrastructure and asset financing transactions for transport, health, energy, telecommunications, property and aircraft leasing and other sectors. He brings with him over fifteen years of rail industry experience.
Prior to joining Rock, Jim spent over thirty-seven years at Commonwealth Bank Australia (CBA), as Senior Vice President of Direct Lending, (2017-2020), Infrastructure Finance (2011-2016) and Project and Asset Finance (2006-2010), and completed secondments to London, including one to Rock Rail in 2016, and New York.
During his time as Senior Consultant at Rock Rail, Jim arranged £700m funding for the acquisition of two large rolling stock fleets, for Rock Rail East Anglia, arranging a senior loan facility from six major European and North American institutions.
Jim has experience in raising all forms of capital and has worked with major contractors (CIMIC, Lend Lease, Acciona, Bombardier, Alstom), investors (InfraRed, Macquarie, Hastings, John Laing, Aviva Investors) and banks, as well as global institutional (non-bank) lenders.
Notable transactions
Rail
- Rock Rail East Anglia – led the £700m financing of 378 new Stadler electric and bi-mode Intercity and Regional trains for the Abellio Greater Anglia franchise
- ACT Canberra Metro PPP – helped arrange the A$1bn senior debt facility for this highly profiled and sensitive Light Rail Development project
- Sydney Light Rail PPP – led the A$1.55bn senior debt facility for the development project and was personally instrumental to the final formulation of the debt package
- Queensland New Generation Rolling Stock PPP – led an A$740m syndicated senior debt facility for the project
- Porterbrook Leasing Company – CBA co-arranged a 7 Year £1.6Bn Senior Facility for the acquisition of Porterbrook
- Angel Trains Group – CBA co-arranged and underwrote a 7 Year £2.2Bn Senior Facility for the acquisition of Angel Trains
Transport
- Sunshine Coast Airport (Qld) – led the A$350m Privatisation, integrating future equity funding into a traditional project financing, in response to unique vendor sale condition
- Transmission Gully PPP (Wellington NZ) – led-arranged and bank syndicated NZ$940m syndicated senior debt facility
- Air Lease Corporation Inc – managed the US$150m equity investment, to make CBA’s large and strategic important investment, to become a major lessor to the global airline industry
Healthcare
- New Calvary Hospital (Adelaide, SA) – raised A$180m senior facility for the A$250m development, which was the first private sector greenfield financing of a non-for-profit operated hospital facility
- UK Hospital PPP Equity Investments
- Forth Valley Hospital, Scotland – a 50% £12.5m PFI equity investment for the construct and maintenance of a new hospital in partnership with John Laing (50%)
- Tunbridge Wells Hospital, England – a 37.5% £9m PFI equity investment for the construct and maintenance of a new hospital in partnership with John Laing (37.5%) & Interserve (25%)
- Barts Hospital, London – Britain’s largest hospital development, c£1.7bn financing to design, build, finance and maintain healthcare facilities
Other
- South Australian Police HQ – an A$155m refinancing of purpose built commercial building in Adelaide funded by way of a credit tenant lease a form, a first for the Australian market that was placed with a major offshore institutional (non-bank) lender
- Crown Castle Australia – raised a A$745m syndicated senior debt facility for the A$1.6Bn Telecommunications Infrastructure Acquisition