Watson Farley & Williams (“WFW”) advised a syndicate of French and international banks led by Societe Generale on the arrangement of a c. €190m financing as part of the takeover of the Paris-Beauvais airport concession by Bellova, a company owned by a consortium of sponsors comprising Egis, Serena Industrial Partners, Bouygues Construction, Aéroports de la Côte d’Azur and TIIC.
On 30 September 2024, Bellova signed the concession contract with the Syndicat Mixte de l’Aéroport Beauvais-Tillé (“SMABT”), as well as the financing documentation with the banks for the airport’s modernisation and extension.
The project comprises a 22-month design phase and a 38-month construction phase, with progressive commissioning of the new infrastructure. The airport will remain in operation during the modernisation works, which have been awarded by Bellova to a consortium of designer-builders led by Bouygues Bâtiment Grand Ouest.
Bellova aims to achieve ACA (“Airport Carbon Accreditation”) level 3+ by 2028, and ACA level 4+ by 2032. The ACA 4+ level corresponds to ambitious reduction targets compatible with the Paris Agreement. Over 120,000 sq. m. of photovoltaic panels will be installed in the visitor car parks.
With a human scale infrastructure, the Paris-Beauvais airport recorded 5.6m passengers in 2023 and is positioned as the ninth largest airport in France.
The multidisciplinary WFW Paris team that advised the lenders on the concession and financing was led by Partners Laurence Martinez-Bellet on the finance and bankability elements and Arnaud Troizier on regulatory, public law and project contract matters. Both were assisted by Associates Julie Michelangeli, Chloé Moriceau, Sophie Rivallain and Simon Allain on the finance aspects of the deal.
