Jelf buys time with £24m debt facility

Jelf has thrashed out a crucial deal with lenders to help refinance its debt, as revealed on insurancetimes.co.uk last week.

The consolidator has secured a new £24m debt facility, with a repayment timetable drawn out over the next five years.

It means Jelf, which has debts of £33m, will have more time to eventually pay off its creditors.

A statement from the West Country group said: “The repayments are matched to the projected cashflows of the business. The group continues to enjoy a positive start to the year and has agreed to reduce its net debt through operational cashflow and by other means as soon as practicable.”

A Jelf spokesman said the company would not make specific comments until the 23 February results.

Companies House records show that the consolidator owes £12.5m over the next four years in deferred payments. Its overall debts are around £33m.

The payments have to be made to the vendors of a clutch of broking businesses bought by Jelf at the top of the economic cycle in 2007.

In February 2009, the West Country broker had drawn £23.8m in net debt, with another £11.2m left to access. Its principal bank is The Royal Bank of Scotland.

Elsewhere, Lloyd’s broker Windsor has also secured a deal to refinance its debt. Windsor’s management sealed a £33.7m buy-out from shareholders two years ago, paving the way for a delisting.

Clydesdale Bank has taken over from KBC as the broker’s main banker and has supported the senior debt refinancing.

The deal will also refinance loan notes from private equity house Hutton Collins, which held a 22% stake in the business at the time of the buy-out while the remaining 78% was snapped up by staff.

Chief executive John Bennett said: “This refinancing is a major milestone for Windsor. In Clydesdale Bank we have found an entrepreneurial partner with a deep insight into our market.”