Towergate completes £930m debt refinancing

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Debt cut by £100m as Advent deal concludes

Towergate this morning said it has completed its debt refinancing and secured the £200m investment from global private equity firm Advent International.

The long-term refinancing includes a £520m corporate bond issue and £410m of new bank debt facilities, of which £90m will be used for acquisitions.

Towergate said the refinancing has resulted in its total borrowings being reduced by over £100m. The refinancing also extended Towergate’s debt maturity profile, it added.

Following launch on 31 January 2011, the £520m corporate bond issue, which was led by JP Morgan and Credit Suisse, priced on 4 February 2011.

The £410m bank facility has been agreed with a consortium of banks led by Lloyds Bank Corporate Markets and Goldman Sachs.

Final repayment of the bank facility is due in 2017, with the bonds due in 2018 and 2019.

Advent's managing partner Humphrey Battcock and director Nick Rose, together with Admiral non-executive chairman Alastair Lyons, have joined the board of the Towergate holding company, Towergate Partnershipco.

Towergate chairman and founder Peter Cullum, whose stake reduced to around 40% following the Advent deal, said: “I am delighted to announce the completion of our long-term refinancing which cements the investment from Advent.

"The speed at which we were able to complete this refinancing, and the terms on which it was agreed, are testament to our business model and leading positions in our chosen fields. This provides the firepower to accelerate our ambitious growth plans, putting us in great shape to achieve our future goals.”

Andy Homer, chief executive of Towergate, said: “In the few days we were in the market, investors showed overwhelming support for our business and the future potential with Advent on board.

"We were very pleased with the support from our leading banks Lloyds Bank, JP Morgan, Credit Suisse and Goldman Sachs in this transaction. We are ideally positioned to take advantage of the many opportunities we see for growth and acquisitions, and will continue to invest across our businesses.”