Spain and the Netherlands have been the fastest countries on average over the last five years to bring projects from tender launch to financial close, according to IJGlobal’s data.

Transport and social infrastructure PPP primary financings, which reached financial close from 2009 to the present, are included in the dataset which looks at the most actively procuring countries.

The Netherlands was an early adopter of PPP structures and began procuring them in the late 1990s. Its projects are procured via an efficient and centralised process, and backed by a comparatively strong economy. Ranked second fastest, it took the Netherlands an average of 22.88 months (1.9 years) over the five-year period.

Dutch transport procurer Rijkswaterstaat requires one single fully committed financing solution for the second and final bid round, meaning a swift advance to financial close. If three or fewer prequalify, then bidding proceeds straight to final offers.

However, Spain’s first place, at an average of 22.25 months (1.85 years), is a more surprising result. Spain’s GDP growth drop was not the worst in Europe following the global financial crisis of 2008, but economic recovery since has been slow.

In contrast to the Netherlands, autonomous regions procured 75% of Spain's PPPs in IJGlobal’s dataset, including the Barcelona Line 9 Subway Stations PPP which took a mere 7.4 months from tender to financial close. Spanish consortia submit just one bid after prequalification and carry out the funding competition thereafter.

Ireland and Greece’s severe economic constraints led to IMF/EU economic bailouts in 2011 and 2010, respectively. In 2011 Ireland delayed PPP funding competitions until after the preferred bidder stage to ease pressure. The time from tender to financing for Greece’s schools PPP programme in Attica spanned 83.2 months (6.9 years) from 2007-2014 and no Greek PPPs closed between May 2009 and 2014. Greece had a 249% longer average time than Spain.

Market participants often grumble about Belgium's bureaucratic system for procurement, which the data supports. Belgium took 51 months (4.3 years) from tender to close for the A11 financing and for the Flemish Schools PPP 46 months (3.9 years).

In IJGlobal’s dataset, the UK has by far the highest volume of deals (50%). But despite being a well-rehearsed in procuring PFIs since the 1990s its track-record is firmly average. France’s PPPs accounted for 21.8% of the dataset, and its average result likewise shows practice does not always make perfect.