Pinewood completes £50m refinancing
PINEWOOD Shepperton, the film and TV studios business owned by property giant Peel Group, has completed a £50m refinancing.
The firm said that its new £50m facility with Lloyds TSB and Royal Bank of Scotland will run until November 2016 and replaces a £47m package that was due to expire in August.
Some £15m of the debt has been provided through a sterling-denominated term loan, while a further £35m will be made available through a multi-currency revolving credit facility – Pinewood Shepperton also has studios in Canada, the Dominican Republic, Malaysia and Germany.
It will pay a margin over LIBOR rates of between 2.85%-4.35% depending on its own gearing.
Chief executive Ivan Dunleavy said: “Against the backdrop of a strong operating performance demonstrated by our results in the fifteen months to 31 March the company has renewed its banking facilities on favourable terms, given current market conditions.
“The company is well-positioned to pursue its objectives and looks to the future with confidence.”
Last week, Pinewood Shepperton reported increased revenues of £63m for a 15-month period to March 31, while operating profits before exceptionals increased to £13.2m.
However, one-off costs including a £7.1m write-off in the value of the Project Pinewood venture for which planning permission was refused meant that it incurred a pre-tax loss of £1.9m.
Peel Group owns 71% of Pinewood Shepperton following a £97m takeover bid last year. Stockport-based jeweller Warren James owns 27% of the business.
