Rock provides innovative financing solutions and asset management services for rolling stock and zero emission buses, transforming rail and road travel for passengers, delivering public sector value and supporting sustainable transport. Since 2016, Rock Rail has secured £3.3 billion of institutional investment into new, state-of-the-art passenger trains, helping transform passenger journeys and supporting a more sustainable railway. Rock Road was launched in 2021 to support bus operators, councils and Government in meeting decarbonisation targets while managing an industry shift towards ‘reregulation’. The Hub has been supporting Rock for years in achieving its aims through the provision of advisory services and due diligence in support of its transactions.

Typically our services include:

• Preparing market studies for new opportunities.
• Reviewing key features of the national and international rail and public transport markets, covering demographic trends, economic growth, transport mode shares, and local and national policies that impact rail usage.
• Assessing the long-term rolling stock plans, reviewing the proposed fleets, maintenance strategy, infrastructure, and proposed service patterns.
• Producing a detailed fleet assessment to conclude the extent to which the proposed fleet is well matched to the region’s present and future rolling stock requirements and, in the event that the fleet is displaced, the likelihood that it could be redeployed elsewhere.
• Producing detailed commercial and technical due diligence reports with reliance to investors and financiers, helping the transaction reach financial close.

• Provided extensive presentations and Q&A to investors and lenders.
• Undertook residual value analysis to test and scope sell-on implications.
• Undertook strategic assessments of the commercial appeal of the assets to the wider network, based on technical and commercial considerations.
• Conducted a re-leasing risk analysis, including risks concerning demand shifts, policy changes, and future infrastructure developments.
• Undertook an indifference rental analysis to assess the likely rental rates that could be offered by a potential competitor fleets and the optimal rate the client could charge for their fleet while remaining competitive following the initial lease taking into account barriers to replacement.