International Public Partnerships releases £49m capital from education portfolio

(Sharecast News) - International Public Partnerships (INPP) announced on Tuesday that it has completed a £49m capital release from its UK education public-private partnership portfolio, as it continued to unlock value through targeted asset realisations and disciplined capital allocation. The FTSE 250 company said the proceeds came from a debt refinancing transaction involving its investments in the Priority Schools Building Aggregator Programme and 13 minority interests in the Building Schools for the Future (BSF) initiative.

It said the retained equity interests and cash released were secured at a premium to their most recent valuation as of 31 December.

INPP said the retained equity now represented approximately 1% of its last published net asset value.

The transaction followed more than £315m of realisations over the past two years across the energy transmission, social, and digital infrastructure sectors.

All disposals to date either matched or exceeded their most recent valuations, and collectively accounted for around 12% of INPP's portfolio by value.

INPP's Priority Schools investments, held since 2015, had helped to fund 46 new UK schools through long-term availability-based revenue models.

The BSF interests were acquired in 2011, and INPP said it had sought to convert minority holdings into majority-owned positions where possible.

It said the assets included in the current transaction were pooled from minority stakes that no longer aligned with the company's strategic aims.

"The completion of this transaction demonstrates our active portfolio management strategy and ability to unlock value for shareholders in the current environment," said chair Mike Gerrard.

"By realising a selection of mature assets, INPP is able to enhance shareholder value through capital returns and strategic reinvestment."

INPP reaffirmed its disciplined capital allocation strategy, which it said included prudent use of its corporate debt facility, selective disposals, and redeployment of capital either into share buybacks or new investments.

To date, INPP said it had used £80m of its authorised £200m buyback programme, which was extended to run until March 2026.

The company said it would continue repurchasing shares while they trade at a significant discount to net asset value.

At 1028 BST, shares in International Public Partnerships were up 0.35% at 119.22p.

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.