IPEX was delighted to support the hard work of Timothy Jackson, Rachel Picard, and the entire Proxima team across this significant rolling stock order. The Proxima project will transform high speed train services in France with Alstom's Avelia Horizon, and we look forward to seeing Alstom deliver its train maintenance expertise at the new build Marcheprime depot in Bordeaux. Congratulations to all involved.
Co-Founder of Proxima, France's first independent high-speed passenger rail operator
Proxima credits also due as follows: For more than four years, Rachel Picard have been fortunate to benefit from the consummate professionalism, the comprehensive sector experience, the entrepreneurial drive and the dependable companionship through thick and thin of the team at Centrus (especially Stephen Layburn and Louis Dubois), whom I thank warmly and sincerely. As I transition to Proxima, I have nothing but positive memories of the time I spent working with Centrus. Over a shorter but more intensive period, we have benefitted enormously from the experience, resources, dedication, agility and good company of Clifford Chance in Paris and London (notably Gauthier Martin, Benoît Offe, Clément Fricaudet, DOMINIC I P WATTS, Robert Allen-White, Chloé Desreumaux, Daniel Zerbib, Sophie Laporte, Alexandre Couturier, Apolline Coly and Xavier Vaury). The teams there are as good as you’d think and deserve our thanks. It would be remiss not to mention the invaluable contribution to today’s rolling stock order of the experts at IPEX (Malcolm Wilson B.Eng C.Eng FIMechE, Joseph Brown MEng AMIMechE PMQ, David Shipley, Rob Needham, Robert Clayton and the rest of the team). They have shared with us a combination of technical and commercial insight, built upon individuals with years of relevant experience and a strong understanding of and focus on the client’s needs. You haven’t heard the last of Proxima…. Credit is due also to Perella Weinberg Partners (AZEMA David, Jerome Brassart and their team) for its role in supporting Antin and the founders of Proxima in the transaction process and to our friends at Onepoint (Julien Fere and Margot Besnier) for the role they play in steering the creation and implementation of Proxima’s brand and design. Watch this space… There are many others too that have helped us along the way with their specialist skills (Artelia, CA2P Formation, N+P Innovation Design GmbH, Oyat Avocats, SCI Verkehr GmbH, Simon-Kucher, W Conran Design, WTW, etc.) and we look forward to continuing to work with them as we move from the virtual project to the live business. We are genuinely grateful to the banks that have rallied round to support a pioneering venture with demonstrable potential but which does not fit easily into the conventional boxes. For their sophisticated analysis, persistence and confidence, we need to thank the ten lenders to Proxima. Last but not least, Rachel and I are indebted to our expert advisors at Coruscans (Frederic Balochard) and Jeausserand Audouard (Antoine Dufrane and Carole Furst), who have accompanied us as founders in our implementation of Proxima. With the support of all of the aforementioned partners and supporters, we are thrilled to have reached this stage and will keep you posted on Proxima as we move forward, non-stop and at high-speed.