GVC agrees New RCF to provide greater flexibility

RNS Number : 1371L

GVC Holdings PLC

28 April 2020

 

28 April 2020 

GVC Holdings PLC

("GVC" or the "Group")

GVC agrees New RCF to provide greater flexibility

GVC Holdings PLC (LSE: GVC), the global sports betting and gaming group, today announces that it has agreed a new £535m Revolving Credit Facility ("The New RCF") with existing lending banks.  The New RCF is on substantially the same terms as GVC's previous RCF (which has now been cancelled), save for a revised covenant limit.  As per the previous RCF, the covenant of net debt/EBITDA will be measured on a trailing 12-month pre IFRS-16 basis only if the facility is drawn by more than 35% at a quarter-end¹.  For the quarter-ends up to, and including, 30 September 2021 the covenant limit will be no more than 6X net debt/EBITDA, thereafter the limit will return to 4X.

The facility is currently undrawn and on 6 April GVC confirmed that it is in a robust financial position², with accessible cash of over £350m³ at 31 March 2020. Of this amount, over £250m is cash at hand after excluding cash in shops, ringfenced PSP funds and other items which may not be immediately available.

Rob Wood, GVC's CFO, commented:

"Having taken early and decisive actions to mitigate the impact of COVID-19 on our business, we are confident that we can achieve our target of breakeven cashflow per month during this crisis. I am delighted that we have reached agreement with our key lending banks on this revised RCF which will provide us with further financial flexibility to continue on our path of excellent growth momentum. We remain well placed to take advantage of a range of attractive growth opportunities which we believe will be available to us."

This announcement contains inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of the Market Abuse Regulation EU 596/2016.

Enquiries:

Investor Relations GVC Holdings PLC
David Lloyd-Seed, Director of Investor Relations & External Communications	Tel: [phone]
Jennifer Spencer, Investor Relations Manager	([e-mail])
Media GVC Holdings PLC Jay Dossetter, Head of CSR & Corporate Communications	Tel: [phone]
Powerscourt
Rob Greening / Elly Williamson	Tel: [phone]

Notes

1.  Unrealised synergies will be added to EBITDA for the purposes of the covenant calculation.

2.  As at 31 December 2019 on a pre-IFRS 16 basis GVC reported adjusted net debt of £1,823m and a net debt/EBITDA ratio of 2.69x.

3.  Accessible cash excludes cash held on behalf of customers.

LEI: 213800GNI3K45LQR8L28

Forward-looking statements

This document contains certain statements that are forward-looking statements. They appear in a number of places throughout this document and include statements regarding our intentions, beliefs or current expectations and those of our officers, directors and employees concerning, amongst other things, results of our operations, financial condition, liquidity, prospects, growth, strategies and the business we operate. These forward-looking statements include all matters that are not historical facts. By their nature, these statements involve risks and uncertainties since future events and circumstances can cause results and developments to differ materially from those anticipated. Any such forward-looking statements reflect knowledge and information available at the date of preparation of this document . Other than in accordance with its legal or regulatory obligations (including under the Market Abuse Regulation (596/2014), the Listing Rules, the Disclosure Guidance and Transparency Rules and the Prospectus Rules), the Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise any such forward-looking statements. Nothing in this document should be construed as a profit forecast. The Company and its directors accept no liability to third parties in respect of this document save as would arise under English law.

About GVC Holdings PLC

GVC Holdings PLC is one of the world's largest sports-betting and gaming groups, operating both online and in the retail sector.  The Group owns a comprehensive portfolio of established brands; Sports Brands include bwin, Coral, Crystalbet, Eurobet, Ladbrokes, Neds and Sportingbet; Gaming Brands include CasinoClub, Foxy Bingo, Gala, Gioco Digitale, partypoker and PartyCasino. The Group owns proprietary technology across all of its core product verticals and in addition to its B2C operations provides services to a number of third-party customers on a B2B basis. The Group has also entered into a joint-venture with MGM Resorts to capitalise on the sports-betting and gaming opportunity in the US.  The Group, incorporated in the Isle of Man, is a constituent of the FTSE 250 index and has licences in more than 20 countries, across five continents.

For more information see the Group's website: www.gvc-plc.com

 

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