The European Investment Bank has agreed to provide £90.5m to support construction of the new Royal Liverpool University Hospital.
The scheme, costing a total of £429m, includes the construction of the new hospital, demolition of the current buildings, and landscaping works.
Construction of the new facility, at a cost of £335m, will begin early next year after the plans were signed off by the Royal Liverpool and Broadgreen University Hospitals Trust and developer, Carillion.
Alongside the European Investment Bank support, a further £118m will be provided by the hospital trust and the Department of Health. The remaining funds will come from private lenders including Legal and General Investment Management (LGIM) Lloyds TSB and Scottish Widows Investment Group.
The new Royal Liverpool Hospital will transform healthcare in the city, providing the most-advanced medical treatment and ensuring the highest standards of privacy and dignity for the thousands of patients using the hospital each year
The new hospital will be the largest in the country to provide single en-suite bedrooms for all patients, improving privacy and dignity for patients and helping to reduce infection risks. Once completed there will be 18 theatres and 23 wards, alongside a large clinical research facility and 40-bed critical care unit. The emergency department will be one of the biggest in the North West, with a CT scanner and special lifts for major trauma patients which go straight to theatres. Patients, staff and visitors will benefit from key services being located closer together and an easier layout.
Jonathan Taylor, European Investment Bank vice president, said: “The new Royal Liverpool Hospital will transform healthcare in the city, providing the most-advanced medical treatment and ensuring the highest standards of privacy and dignity for the thousands of patients using the hospital each year.
“The European Investment Bank is pleased to continue its engagement to support healthcare investment in the North West through a £90m 31-year loan for the project that has been agreed following examination of the project’s technical and economic plans by healthcare teams with experience across Europe. This follows £55m support for the new Alder Hey Children’s Hospital earlier this year.”
Aidan Kehoe, chief executive of the Royal Liverpool and Broadgreen University Hospitals Trust, added: “This is a huge moment for all those who have worked so hard, for so many years and we are all delighted to have achieved financial close on the new Royal. This is fantastic news for our patients, our staff and the city of Liverpool. We will have a world-class hospital facility designed to provide a whole new approach to healthcare and help us to tackle some of our region’s biggest health issues. The new Royal will improve the health and wealth of the city, creating hundreds of construction jobs and training opportunities and paving the way for thousands of hi-tech jobs on the biocampus.”
The European Investment Bank is pleased to continue its engagement to support healthcare investment in the North West through a £90m 31-year loan for the project
The deal achieved with European Investment Bank means the annual payment will now be over £10m less than the initial projections and will mean the hospital trust will be paying around 5% of its income.
“This is one of the lowest-cost public private deals ever,” said Helen Jackson, director of strategy and redevelopment at the trust.
The new hospital will be one of the ‘greenest’ in the country, with renewable energy systems, low-carbon technology, use of water meters and leak detection systems. During the four-year construction it is expected that 750 full-time jobs will be created, with 60% of jobs going to local people. Construction will contribute about £240m to the local economy as well as providing 75 to 100 apprenticeships.
- Companies:
- Royal Liverpool and Broadgreen University Hospital
- Carillion PLC
- European Investment Bank
- Legal and General Investment Management
