Linklaters has advised on the capital markets refinancing of the R1 Expressway public-private partnership (PPP) project, a motorway between Nitra and Banská Bystrica in Slovakia.

This transaction is thought by the sponsors to be one of the largest PPP project bonds ever brought to market, and it is the first project bond for a Slovakian issuer. The refinancing is expected to save the Slovak government in excess of €100 million over the life of the project. Linklaters advised the project sponsors Meridiam Infrastructure and Vinci Concessions, and the issuer Granvia a.s. as project company and concessionaire.

The Linklaters team was led by Energy & Infrastructure partner Ian Andrews and Structured Capital Markets specialist Adam Fogarty.