Centrus arranges a €71m and ¥2.5bn private placement for The Monks Investment Trust

Transaction Overview

The Monks Investment Trust PLC (“Monks”) was founded in 1929 and has been managed by Baillie Gifford since 1931. Baillie Gifford is an unlimited liability partnership founded in 1908 and is solely focused on investment management. It is one of the largest investment Trust Managers in the UK.

On the 13^th December 2023, Monks announced that it has issued a total of approximately £74 million equivalent of fixed rate, senior, unsecured privately placed notes, denominated in Euros and Japanese Yen, over periods ranging from 7 to 14 years.

Centrus Solution

Monks has issued four tranches of privately placed Notes: 

• EUR18 million with a fixed coupon of 4.30% to be repaid in 2030
• EUR35 million with a fixed coupon of 4.29% to be repaid in 2033
• EUR18 million with a fixed coupon of 4.55% to be repaid in 2035
• JPY2,500 million with a fixed coupon of 2.17% to be repaid in 2037

Coupons are payable semi-annually. 

Centrus acted as arranger of the issue of Notes, advising on the structure of the transaction, drafting an investor presentation and arranging meetings with a selected group of institutional investors.

Outcome

• This transaction provides Monks with medium-term financing across a range of maturities and at a competitive weighted average interest rate of 3.96%.
• The Monks’ Board remains committed to the strategic use of borrowings for the Company in order to enhance returns to shareholders over the long term and has set a guideline gearing level of 10%.
• This new financing will serve to bring Monks’ level of gearing into line with the company’s target level, and to reduce the average cost of borrowing.

“Monks has a diversified portfolio with assets held across a range of sectors and industries and with exposure to several major currencies including USD, EUR, JPY and GBP. In order to benefit from lower coupon currencies, Monks decided to borrow predominantly in EUR but including a modest tranche in JPY with the financing provided by two investors offering attractive terms across a spread of medium term maturities”

Robert St John – Centrus

For more information, please contact Robert St John.

Back to Credentials

• 
• 
•