2.1 The refinancing of the Fazakerley prison contract is one example of how shareholders can extract financial benefits both earlier and in greater quantity than the expected benefits originally disclosed in their consortium's bid for a PFI contract. There are likely to be similar opportunities in other PFI contracts, particularly those signed in the early stages of the development of this new form of procurement, and where the required service has subsequently been successfully provided by the private sector consortium. There can be, however, important consequences for departments arising from refinancings, and departments should consider what provisions they should make to share in some of the financial gains and whether their consent should be required before a refinancing can proceed.