24.11.2009

Ashtead extends loan maturity

Ashtead, owner of A-Plant in the UK and Sunbelt in the USA, and operator of the world’s second largest aerial lift fleet, has extended the maturity of its senior loan facility until November 2013.

The extended tranche carries pricing of LIBOR plus 300bp to 375bp
depending on leverage. At the end of October the debt under the facility was £386 million with unused availability of $500 million.

All of the group's debt is now covenant free, other terms and conditions of the facility are broadly unchanged.

Geoff Drabble, chief executive, said: “We continue to demonstrate that our financial structure is appropriate to all phases in the economic cycle. We are pleased with the support received from our senior secured lenders in agreeing this maturity extension. The resulting five year weighted average maturity across all our debt ensures that that our existing capital structure has the flexibility and strength required to enable our businesses to succeed and prosper in the years ahead.”

Vertikal Comment

Ashtead has come a long way since the dark days of 2003, it is now in a strong position with no banking covenants or short term maturity dates to worry about.

At the same time it has plenty of headroom within its lines of credit to take advantage of the opportunities that are sure to surface over the next sis months or so.