Moneysupermarket powers-up with £100m refinance
PRICE comparison giant Moneysupermarket has agreed an enlarged £100m, revolving credit facility with two lenders.
The refinancing deal with Lloyds and Barclays could increase to £200m if the Deeside-based listed company makes a major anquisition.
The Deeside-based group’s long-term banking partner Lloyds, has been joined by Barclays Corporate Banking in the enhanced arrangement, which replaces an existing £50m debt facility.
The group have introduced Barclays Bank to their debt facility alongside Lloyds Bank, increasing the existing facility from £50m to £100m plus a £100m uncommitted accordion facility for acquisition finance.
Moneysupermarket, based in Ewloe just outside Chester, operates through three brands (MoneySuperMarket, MoneySavingExpert and TravelSuperMarket), split into four product lines – money, insurance, home services and travel.
The group was originally established in 1993 as an offline intermediary in the mortgages industry – it launched the MoneySuperMarket.com website in 1999 as a consumer facing service leveraging the mortgage database from the offline business.
Chief financial officer Matthew Price said: “We have put in place a competitive funding structure with two relationship banks and I would like to welcome Barclays to the banking group. The support of our banks in providing an increased revolving credit facility which gives additional headroom and is more flexible is a great vote of confidence and illustrates both the strength of our balance sheet and the quality of our asset base. This funding package will help underpin our strategy to grow the business in the years ahead.”
Andrew Meadowcroft, relationship director at Barclays in Manchester said: “We have been developing a relationship with Moneysupermarket for a number of years and have built a strong strategic dialogue with the CFO.
“The joined-up approach taken by our corporate, debt finance and investment bank teams, coupled with our appetite to support the group’s potential acquisition strategy, underlines the support we’ll be bringing to the relationship moving forward.”
Paul Foster, Manchester-based relationship director at Lloyds Bank Commercial Banking, added: “The strong and consistent growth of MoneySuperMarket in the last few years is testament to the expertise and ambition of its management team.
“Having supported the business for more than eight years, through key milestones such as its flotation and acquisition of Money Saving Expert, we are confident of its continued success in its next stage of expansion.”
