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Executive Council Approves BAE Expansion

Published Thursday Dec 20, 2018

Executive Council Approves BAE Expansion

BAE Systems took a major step forward in its plans to expand into Manchester.  The proposal that included a partnership with NH Business Finance Authority (BFA), was approved unanimously on Dec. 19 by the Executive Council. Now that the plan has been approved, the BFA will purchase property at 3000 Goffs Falls Road in Manchester and then lease it back to BAE over the next 10 years, according to a statement from the BFA.  

The 200,000-square foot site, located off Brown Avenue, offers close access to the Manchester-Boston Regional Airport and Interstates 93 and 293 and will enable the BAE to attract the talent it needs to initially fill 800 high-paying positions.  The partnership with NH’s Business Finance Authority allows BAE to secure the building while maximizing the amount of capital available to grow the business.  BAE will purchase the building from the BFA at the end of the 10-year lease.

“This is an exciting opportunity for Manchester as well as New Hampshire,” says BFA Executive Director, James Key-Wallace.  “We are proud to have worked closely with BAE to make this deal happen.  Our innovative and collaborative approach to structuring this expansion shows that New Hampshire is able to attract world-class companies who create high-quality jobs.”

The deal involved the cooperation of many agencies including NH’s Department of Business and Economic Affairs and the City of Manchester.  The lease-purchase structure has become a powerful tool used by the BFA to help companies grow cost-effectively and invest their capital in infrastructure improvements to grow rapidly, the statement reads.  The BFA has used this type of financing structure before and had great success including in Rochester with the Safran Albany facility that created hundreds of high-quality manufacturing jobs.

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