Ben Hemming

Ben joined Rock as a Partner in the origination team in July 2026. 

Based in Munich, Ben leads Rock’s origination activities in Germany, with a focus on sustainable transport, energy transition and essential infrastructure opportunities. He brings more than 20 years of experience in infrastructure finance and investment, including senior leadership roles across institutional debt, project finance and structured finance. Most recently, Ben served as Global Head of Illiquid Assets Debt at MEAG, where he built and scaled a leading infrastructure debt investment platform for international institutional investors. Previously, he held senior roles at Siemens Bank and BayernLB across Munich, London and Paris, developing a strong track record across PPPs, concession-based assets, rolling stock and critical infrastructure financings. 

Notable Transactions 

Rail: 

  • Rock Rail E-NORM, Germany: Exclusive Arranger and Senior Lender for the €300m acquisition financing of Siemens Mireo electric multiple units, to be leased to Deutsche Bahn from 2028 for the Elektronetz Nord-Magdeburg regional rail network across Saxony-Anhalt, Lower Saxony and Brandenburg. 
  • Rock Rail MAN, Germany: Exclusive Arranger and Senior Lender for the €150m financing of Stadler battery-electric FLIRT Akku units, to be leased initially to Deutsche Bahn for the Mittelthüringisches Akkunetz regional rail network in Thuringia from 2028. 
  • Rock Rail MDSB, Germany: Exclusive Arranger and Senior Lender for the €400m financing of Siemens Mireo electric multiple units, to be leased to Deutsche Bahn and Die Länderbahn from 2026 for the Mitteldeutsches S-Bahn Netz Lots 1 & 2 around Leipzig. 
  • Kinzigtal, Germany: Exclusive Arranger and Senior Lender for the €325m acquisition financing of Alstom Coradia Stream HC units for the Kinzigtal regional passenger rail network in Hesse under a long-term operating lease with Deutsche Bahn. 
  • Rock Rail Main-Weser, Germany: Exclusive Arranger and Senior Lender for the €225m financing of Alstom Coradia Stream HC units, initially leased to Deutsche Bahn for the Main-Weser regional transport network in Hesse. 
  • LISEA Tours-Bordeaux High Speed Rail, France: Senior Lender for the €4bn refinancing of France’s largest privately owned rail concession, connecting Tours and Bordeaux and materially reducing travel time between Paris and Bordeaux. 
  • DISA, Germany: Exclusive Arranger and Senior Lender for the c. €150m institutional refinancing of an operational Alstom Coradia fleet serving Dieselnetz Sachsen-Anhalt under a long-term lease with Start Mitteldeutschland, an affiliate of Deutsche Bahn. 
  • NES, Germany: Exclusive Arranger and Senior Lender for the €50m refurbishment financing of Stadler KISS double-deck electric multiple units used by ODEG on part of the Netz-Elbe-Spree regional rail network. 
  • Dieselnetz-Ulm, Germany: Arranger and Senior Lender to the c. EUR 120m financing of a new fleet of Alstom Coradia multiple units used by Deutsche Bahn on a regional passenger rail network nearby Ulm in Baden-Württemberg and Bavaria. First institutional financing of a leased passenger fleet for Deutsche Bahn. 
  • Rock Rail South Western, UK: Senior Lender and Arranger for the £1bn financing of Rock Rail’s South Western trains project, one of the largest unrated privately placed infrastructure transactions in the UK market. 
  • European Locomotive Leasing, Austria and Germany: Arranger and Senior Lender for the c. €200m financing of the initial fleet of 50 Siemens Vectron locomotives for a newly established Austrian and German locomotive lessor. 
  • GSM-Rail, France: Arranger and Senior Lender for the initial €1.5bn financing of a digital rail communications system covering c. 80% of the French rail network under an availability-based 15-year PPP contract with the French State; PFI Awards – Europe Telecoms Deal of the Year 2010. 

Further Transport: 

  • A49 Motorway PPP, Germany: Arranger and Senior Lender for the c. €1bn financing of the construction, operation and maintenance of the A49 motorway section in Hesse under an availability-based 30-year PPP model with the Federal Republic of Germany. 
  • A3 Motorway PPP, Germany: Arranger and Senior Lender for the €1.3bn financing of a 76km six-lane widening, operation and maintenance project on the A3 motorway between Biebelried and Fürth/Erlangen under an availability-based 30-year PPP model. 
  • A9 Amsterdam Motorway PPP, The Netherlands: Arranger and Senior Lender for the €900m financing of road widening, operation and maintenance works under a DBFM contract with the Kingdom of the Netherlands. 
  • A24 Blankenburg Tunnel PPP, The Netherlands: Arranger and Senior Lender for the €900m financing of a 4.5km motorway tunnel and related A20 and A15 motorway connections near Rotterdam under an availability-based DBFM contract with the Kingdom of the Netherlands; PFI Awards -Europe Transport Deal of the Year 2018. 
  • A16 Rotterdam Motorway PPP, The Netherlands: Arranger and Senior Lender for the €900m financing of an 11km A16 motorway extension and tunnel under a DBFM contract with the Kingdom of the Netherlands. 
  • A19 Motorway Concession, France: Senior Lender for the institutional refinancing of Arcour, an affiliate of VINCI Concessions, which operates a tolled 101km motorway between Artenay and Courtenay. 
  • A66 Motorway, Spain: Senior Lender for the €185m institutional bond refinancing of a 49km operational motorway northwest of Madrid under an availability-based PPP contract with the Spanish State; IJGlobal Europe and Africa Refinancing Deal of the Year 2015. 
  • R1 Expressway, Slovakia: Mandated Lead Arranger and Senior Lender for the €1.2bn financing of the construction, operation and maintenance of a 52km expressway between Nitra and Tekovské Nemce under Slovakia’s first PPP contract; PFI Awards – Infrastructure Deal of the Year 2009. 

Other Essential and Energy Infrastructure: 

  • New Amsterdam Court House PPP, The Netherlands: Arranger and Senior Lender for the €150m financing of the design, construction, operation and maintenance of the new Amsterdam Court House, the largest courthouse in the Netherlands, under an availability-based DBFM contract with the Kingdom of the Netherlands. 
  • New Paris Courthouse PPP, France: Arranger and Senior Lender for the €700m financing of the design, construction, operation and maintenance of a 100,000m² judicial palace in Paris under a PPP contract with the French State. 
  • Mutkalampi Onshore Wind Farm, Finland: Exclusive Arranger and Senior Lender for the €300m financing of the construction and long-term operation of the Mutkalampi onshore wind project, the largest institutional renewables financing in Finland to date. 
  • Caruna, Finland: Arranger of subordinated HoldCo debt for Caruna, Finland’s largest regulated electricity distribution company, serving c. 20% of the country’s electricity network. 

Driving Net Zero: How Rock Road 
Is Funding the UK’s Bus Transition

Accelerating the shift to clean, affordable, zero-emission transport

Year
2025
Category
Rock Road
Share

The Challenge

The UK bus network is at the heart of everyday travel – but over 30,000 diesel buses still need replacing to achieve a fully zero-emission fleet.

While around 5,000 battery-electric buses are already on the road, the high upfront cost of electric vehicles and depot electrification continues to slow the transition. Traditional funding routes — such as government grants or short-term bank finance – have helped start the journey but cannot support decarbonisation at the scale required.

A new, sustainable funding model was needed: one that could attract long-term capital, spread costs fairly, and give operators and authorities confidence in the future.

The Solution

In 2021, Rock launched Rock Road to deliver exactly that –  applying its proven infrastructure financing approach from the rail sector to the UK’s clean bus revolution.

Working with Aviva, the National Wealth Fund, and HSBC, Rock created a dedicated investment platform that channels infrastructure-style finance from pension funds and institutional investors directly into zero-emission bus projects.

This model provides:
  • Access to billions in long-term private capital for fleets and depot electrification.
  • Low-cost, sustainable finance tailored to public-sector needs.
  • Comprehensive risk transfer, including residual value and battery performance, supported by Rock’s in-house team of engineers and asset managers.

Impact

The platform has already raised £100 million, with capacity to scale to £1 billion per year over the next decade – providing a consistent source of affordable capital for local authorities and operators.

Rock’s model ensures that the total cost of ownership (TCO) of electric buses can now be lower than diesel equivalents, thanks to both cheaper long-term finance and reduced operating costs.

In London, Rock has financed 120 zero-emission buses under 7-year leases aligned with Transport for London’s contract lengths. This structure gives operators flexibility and certainty:

  • Buses can be returned, renewed, or upgraded at the end of term.
  • Lease rates are predictable and capped.
  • Ownership and residual risks sit with Rock, not the operator.

The Future

Rock Road’s ambition is to support the rollout of zero-emission fleets across the UK – helping local authorities and operators meet climate goals without overextending public budgets.

By leveraging limited government funding to attract large-scale private capital – for example, £10 million of public investment unlocking over £250 million in total funding – Rock’s model accelerates decarbonisation while keeping costs low for the public sector.

Our ambition is to make electric buses the default choice - not because of subsidy, but because they are the best economic and environmental option.
Louis Swindell
Commercial Director, Rock Road