What views do stakeholders have on public sector co-investment or joint venturing alongside private sector equity?  What quantum or terms of public sector equity stake would not adversely impact investment appetite and pricing, and on project performance?

SFT's hub model sees public sector investment in the HubCo public private partnership of up to 40%. Of this, 30% can come from the participating public sector bodies (local authorities, health boards, blue light etc) and 10% from SFT. This equity participation, where there is an alignment of interest in the partnership for successful development of the company to deliver a pipeline of known, and currently unknown projects we see as valuable. The structure also allows (though does not require) pro-rate investment by the public sector in individual financed projects delivered by the hubco.

In terms of quantum it is considered important that the private participant has the clear controlling interest in the hub company and therefore public equity participation has been maintained to well under 50% overall.

For individual stand-alone projects it is less clear that there is value in the alignment of interest and the balance in the tension (which exists in the hub structure as well) between being a client and an investor is considered to fall the other way. A public sector nominated Director on the board of the delivery company as part of the NPD process brings transparency and some influence over key matters where there could be conflict of interest but we have not considered to date that public sector equity participation would bring great value.