Squirrel secures £16m of funding
YORKSHIRE-BASED Squirrel Storage has secured a new £16m finance facility to help its expansion plans.
Barclays Commercial Bank acted as sole arranger for the finance for the Leeds-based business and will provide other future banking support to Squirrel.
The finance facility, which is based upon a funding model involving a property holding company and a separate operating company – known as an 'Opco/Propco'
funding model – maximizes the leverage available to Squirrel and was arranged by the Barclays Commercial Banking deal team including David Hardcastle, Graham Holland, Phil Middleborough and Sharon Fournier.
Squirrel is a privately owned, fast-growing storage business that provides outsourced data storage facilities to professional services businesses. Building upon a regional model it is increasingly providing national coverage.
Jason Schofield, managing director at Squirrel, said: “Barclays has a genuine understanding of and a funding appetite for our business. Right from the start they demonstrated a proactive approach to our needs.”
David Hardcastle, business development director, property at Barclays Commercial commented: “Utilising a group structure based around a property holding company and a separate operating company, Squirrel have been able to raise committed finance, at competitive rates and at a challenging time in the bank market.”
Graham Holland, relationship director at Barclays Commercial added: “Squirrel has recorded steady growth in recent years, achieved both organically and through acquisition. We are delighted to be associated with the next phase in their development plans and this very much demonstrates our continued commitment to the corporate market, at this time.”
