Harland & Wolff gets go-ahead to negotiate £200m loan facility

(Sharecast News) - Harland & Wolff Group has received permission from ministers to proceed with negotiations for a proposed £200m guaranteed loan facility with UK Export Finance (UKEF) under the Export Development Guarantee Scheme, it announced on Friday. The AIM-traded firm said that to ensure compliance with regulations, UKEF would appoint an independent third party in January to determine an appropriate premium over SONIA.

That step was described as crucial as UKEF planned to provide a 100% guarantee to UK commercial lending banks.

With ministerial approval to advance negotiations, Harland & Wolff said it would finalise the bank syndicate and designate a lead arranger.

At the same time, the company would begin the necessary documentation for credit and guarantee agreements, as well as the security package to be offered.

The security package was likely to involve granting the banks a first charge on substantially all of the company's assets, similar to the arrangement with Riverstone Credit Partners in March 2022.

However, the transaction remained subject to ministerial agreement, final financing terms approval, and investment committee approvals from the banks.

Notably, there were no plans to issue warrants to the banks or UKEF.

Harland & Wolff said it believed it had sufficient funds to cover its working capital needs until the new loan facility was finalised, thanks to a combination of cash currently on the balance sheet and expected cash flows from existing contracts in 2024.

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.