Mouchel secures £170m refinancing
Engineering consultant Mouchel, which has offices throughout the North West, has refinanced its bank arrangements giving the company a new debt facility of £170m lasting until March 2014 at up to 4% interest rate.
The agreement with banks Barclays, Lloyds Banking Group and RBS, means Mouchel has to make two repayments of £7.5m on 31 July 2012 and 31 July 2013 and an additional voluntary repayment of £30m.
Mouchel said if the £30m is not made before 31 May 2012, interest rates can rise 2%.
In announcement on the London Stock Exchange on Thursday, Mouchel said it had appointed financial adviser Hawkpoint to "advise on the sale of several non-core businesses".
Mouchel added that it is also "actively reviewing" all of the approaches it has received from companies interested in buying its business and "other options".
A previous interest from Costain was rejected because "they significantly undervalued the company and its prospects", Mouchel said.
Richard Cuthbert, chief executive of Mouchel, added: "The completion of this refinancing is an important turning point for Mouchel. It provides the Group with stability and ensures that we can continue to compete successfully in our chosen markets.
"Although we are still operating in challenging conditions, the fundamentals of our business and long-term opportunities for the Group remain strong. Mouchel came to the Stock Market on the back of the major public service reforms of the eighties and nineties; the present Government's policies will offer a second major catalyst to growth for Mouchel.
"With our new facilities and our leading market positions in local government outsourcing, public sector consulting, highways and water, we look forward with renewed confidence to implementing our strategy, working with organisations across the UK public sector – and in selected overseas markets – to improve the quality and efficiency of public services."
