Banks club together to raise £400m for Safestore
A GROUP of Midlands banks has come together to support the £400m re-financing of plc Safestore Holdings.
HSBC, Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds in Birmingham and Santander in Nottingham joined forces with BRED Banque Populaire, Cathay United Bank, the Bank of Taiwan and Chang Hwa Commercial Bank to create the financial package for Safestore which is the largest self-storage retailer in the UK.
It has 133 stores – five of which are in in the Midlands -and a customer base of more than 45,000 personal and business customers. The company now benefits from £400m in lending facilities, with maturities ranging from 2016 until 2024.
These new arrangements replace the previous £385m facilities which were all due to expire in August 2013.
The new finance structure consists of £270m and €70m four year bank facilities, along with a £73m US private placement with maturities due in 2019 and 2024.
HSBC Midlands head of corporate Mark Harris said: “This was a complex deal involving a number of banks from across the globe, but provides financial stability to Safestore, along with the flexibility for it to continue its selective store expansion programme.”
Safestore is a FTSE listed business headquartered in Borehamwood, Hertfordshire. It employs around 550 people across its network of stores.
