Hammerson signs £415m Revolving Credit Facility

RNS Number : 9244K

Hammerson PLC

22 April 2015

 

Hammerson plc

22 April 2015

Hammerson plc signs £415 million Revolving Credit Facility

Hammerson plc announces the successful syndication and signing of a £415 million unsecured Revolving Credit Facility ("RCF") at an initial margin of 80 basis points with a syndicate of nine banks.  The facility has a maturity of five years which may be extended to a maximum of seven years on Hammerson's request and on each bank's approval for their participation.  The terms of the facility include Hammerson's standard unsecured financial covenants and it will be used for general corporate purposes.

This new facility will refinance the existing £505 million RCF which would have matured in April 2016 and carried an initial margin of 150 basis points.  The existing facility will be cancelled resulting in a net reduction of £90 million of undrawn facilities.  This reduction in quantum of facilities reduces future refinancing risk and commitment fees.  Overall financing costs are further reduced by the lower margin.  The Group's available liquidity remains high at £648 million as reported at 31 December 2014 and £558 million on a pro forma basis.  Following the signing of the new RCF, the total committed financing available to Hammerson is approximately £2.8 billion. 

BNP Paribas acted as Coordinator for the facility.  BNP Paribas, Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, Barclays, HSBC, JP Morgan, Santander and Royal Bank of Scotland were appointed Mandated Lead Arrangers and Bookrunners.  Commitments were also provided by Deutsche Bank and Chang Hwa Commercial Bank.

Timon Drakesmith, Chief Financial Officer of Hammerson, said;

"This new transaction is another milestone on our journey to further reduce Hammerson's cost of debt.  Credit markets are strong and we appreciate the support of our bank group in arranging this attractive loan facility.  We have structured the refinancing to achieve a blend of optimal liquidity, lower running cost and longer maturity."

For further information contact:

Timon Drakesmith, Chief Financial Officer

Tel: [phone]

Richard Sharp, Group Treasurer

Tel: [phone]

[e-mail]

ENDS

 

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