Centrus advises University of Essex in £20m capital raising

Transaction Overview

The University of Essex appointed Centrus to undertake a complete review of their existing debt and hedging arrangements, in preparation for capital raising. The fast-growing competitive university, which was awarded ‘University of the Year’ in 2018, currently has 16,500 students across 3 campuses.  The review assessed the current use of cash resources, considered the balance between fixed and variable debt, and ensured that the university had sufficient liquid facilities.

Centrus Solution

Centrus evaluated the current portfolio to ensure its compatibility with current spending trajectories, and developed a scenario impact model in order to arrive at a recommendation, based on the agreed objectives.

The conclusion of the review was the recommendation that the university repaid a fixed-rate bank facility from cash reserves and for the cash to be replaced with a capital raise of £20m through a competitively priced 3-year bank Revolving Credit Facility (RCF).

Centrus supported the University through the repayment and breaking of the fixed rate loan and in establishing the new facility.

“Centrus provided excellent support throughout the process and we found them to be highly professional, efficient and knowledgeable. They used their technical knowledge to ensure we got the best outcome and market knowledge to smooth the overall process. They demonstrate an excellent understanding of the Higher Education sector and of our institution’s debt and liquidity needs, which gave everyone involved confidence in the excellent outcome we achieved.”

Marc Albano, Deputy Director – University of Essex

“We were very pleased to work with the University of Essex on this transaction which resulted in more flexible bank funding together with near-term interest savings.”

Tony Oakley, Director – Centrus

For more information, please contact sam.goldman@centrusadvisors.com

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