Revolving Credit Facility

RNS Number : 4665C

Venture Life Group PLC

21 June 2021

 

For immediate release

Venture Life Group PLC

("VLG", "Group" or the "Company")

Revolving Credit Facility In Place

Venture Life Group PLC (AIM: VLG), a leader in developing, manufacturing and commercialising products for the international self-care market, announces that, as indicated in the Company's RNS on 7 June 2021 (RNS: 9541A), it has entered into a Revolving Credit Facility ("RCF") with Santander UK PLC and Silicon Valley Bank.

The RCF provides VLG with available borrowing of up to £30 million and is limited to a gross amount of no more than 2.5 times of the Company's trailing consolidated EBITDA plus the trailing EBITDA from any acquisitions being made with drawn money.  In addition to the RCF, the Board has available to it an incremental facility available of a further £20 million, subject to certain conditions, on the same terms as the RCF.

The initial term of the RCF is 3 years with interest to be charged at 2.5% above the Sterling Overnight Index Average ("SONIA") interest rate benchmark. VLG is able use the funds drawn under the facility for acquisitions, working capital or other business uses.

The Board has taken this opportunity to re-organise the corporate financing policies of the Group in an optimal manner taking into account the Group's medium and long-term needs.  As a result, the Group's Italian term loans of €6.0 million as at 31^st May 2021 will be repaid in the coming months, with short term liquidity instruments related to working capital finance, including RIBA invoice discounting, remaining available in Italy.

An initial draw totalling £8 million will be made by VLG in the coming week from the RCF: £2.8 million of this is to replenish working capital cash reserves used in the acquisition of BBI Healthcare Limited, and £5.2 million to repay the Italian bank loans, which is a condition of the RCF.  The remainder of the facility will be kept available for future acquisitions, in addition to the future cash generated in the business moving forward.

Rob Purdew, Associate Director, Strategic Debt Solutions at Santander UK, said: "As a high-growth European consumer healthcare business with a well-executed international strategy, Venture Life is exactly the type of business that Santander UK is equipped to support. We're pleased to act as agent and co-ordinator bank to provide this financial package to the company in support of its acquisition-led growth strategy and goal to create a broad portfolio of consumer healthcare brands."

Jon Lavin, Director, Corporate Credit Solutions, at Silicon Valley Bank said : "We are delighted to support Venture Life Group with new financing to support the Group's growth strategy. The company has a strong track record of developing successful consumer healthcare brands, both in the UK and internationally, and we look forward to working with management to build on this in the years' ahead."

Jerry Randall, CEO commented : "I am delighted to announce the completion of this facility, as I had indicated was expected in our announcement of the acquisition of BBI Healthcare on 7^th June 2021. This facility will significantly extend the reach of the cash we raised from shareholders in December 2020, leveraging the cashflows of the existing business and providing firepower for future acquisitions. As a profitable and cash generative business, it is key to our successful growth that we make use of this low-cost, non-dilutive funding at sensible levels, to both supplement shareholder support and minimise dilution. Interest rates remain at a low level and debt provides an efficient method to provide some of the funding for our growth.

We have been working with Santander, our main bank in the UK, and Silicon Valley Bank for some time to put this facility in place, and I am very pleased with the facilities now available and the support provided by both banks in getting to this point. I am sure this will be a long and fruitful partnership, and I would like to take this opportunity to thank Santander, Silicon Valley Bank and my colleagues internally for doing an excellent job in completing this facility. I am also delighted to have such blue-chip names supporting the growth of the business, which is a significant validation or our model, our vision and our team.

I would also like to take this opportunity to thank Banco BPM Spa, Unicredit SpA and Intesa San Paolo Spa   for their support of our business in Italy to date, which has been invaluable in the growth of the business to this point."

For further information, please contact:

Venture Life Group PLC	[phone]
Jerry Randall, Chief Executive Officer
Cenkos Securities plc (Nomad and Joint Broker)	[phone]
Michael Johnson / Russell Kerr (Sales) Stephen Keys / Camilla Hume (Corporate Finance)
N+1 Singer (Joint Broker)	[phone]
Jonathan Dighe (Sales) Shaun Dobson / Alaina Wong (Corporate Finance)

About Venture Life ( www.venture-life.com )

Venture Life is an international consumer self-care company focused on developing, manufacturing and commercialising products for the global self-care market. With operations in the UK, The Netherlands and Italy, the Group's product portfolio includes some key products such as the UltraDEX and Dentyl oral care product ranges, food supplements for maintaining brain function, medical devices for women's intimate healthcare, fungal infections and proctology, and dermo-cosmetics for addressing the signs of ageing.

The products, which are typically recommended by pharmacists or healthcare practitioners, are available primarily through pharmacies and grocery multiples. In the UK and The Netherlands these are supplied direct by the company to retailers, elsewhere they are supplied by the Group's international distribution partners. 

Through its Development & Manufacturing business in Italy, Biokosmes, the Group also provides development and manufacturing services to companies in the medical devices and cosmetic sectors.

Forward-looking Statements

This news release contains forward ‐ looking information. The statements are based on reasonable assumptions and expectations of management and VLG provides no assurance that actual events will meet management's expectations. In certain cases, forward ‐ looking information may be identified by such terms as "anticipates", "believes", "could", "estimates", "expects", "may", "shall", "will", or "would". Although VLG believes the expectations expressed in such forward ‐ looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results or developments may differ materially from those projected.

Company website

Neither the content of VLG's website nor any website accessible by hyperlinks on VLG's website is incorporated in, or forms part of, this announcement.

 

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