Jerrold raises further funds on bond market
PROPERTY lender Jerrold Holdings has raised £100m through a follow-up funding deal on the bond market.
The Cheadle company has issued £100m in senior secured notes after raising £200m in 2013.
The proceeds of the offering will be used to pre-pay the firm’s revolving credit facility, provide additional lending capacity for the business which lends over £700m per annum to UK based SMEs and home-owners and to pay fees and expenses.
Prior to the transaction, credit agency Fitch Ratings upgraded Jerrold’s long-term issuer default rating to ‘BB-‘ from ‘B+’ with Standard & Poor’s having also upgraded Jerrold to BB- in December 2014.
Gary Beckett, group finance director of Jerrold said: “We are pleased to return to the market and provide additional liquidity to our already successful and popular issue.
“The transaction secures funding which will enable us to take advantage of the opportunities we see in the market and enhance the support we can offer our customers and business partners. Alongside our successful £675m securitisation, which now benefits from investment grade ratings, this is an important cornerstone of financing a loan book in excess of £1.3bn.”
Application has been made for the additional notes to be admitted to the Official List of the Irish Stock Exchange and admitted to trading on its Global Exchange Market, where they will trade together as one series with the Existing Notes.
Credit Suisse Securities (Europe) Limited, Lloyds Bank plc, The Royal Bank of Scotland plc, HSBC Bank plc, Jefferies International Limited and Natixis advised Jerrold on the deal.
Jerrold was founded in 1974 by Henry Moser, who remains chief executive. It sold a minority stake to private equity firm Equistone and Standard Life Investments in 2006 and has been growing strongly in the last two years.
Last September the group said profits for the year to the end of June had increased 16% to £52m on the back of increased demand for its services and continued improvements in credit quality.
