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Club of banks provides refinance and growth facilities to Regard - 11 November 2011
The Regard, one of the UK’s leading providers of residential and supported living care to adults and children, will continue with its expansion and acquisition growth strategy thanks to a £71 million funding package.
The funding comes from a club of banks consisting of Barclays Corporate, Clydesdale Bank, GE Capital and the Royal Bank of Scotland as Joint Mandated Lead Arrangers and Bookrunners.
The club successfully refinanced existing debt through the provision of a structured funding package, provided additional development facilities to assist both organic and acquisition growth and put in place a tailored interest rate hedging product for the business. Chris Spanoudakis of Equita Corporate Finance acted as lead adviser to Regard on the transaction.
Regard, which has its headquarters in Kingston upon Thames, was founded in 1994 by two nurses and is now jointly owned by its management and specialist minority investor MML Capital Partners LLP following an investment by MML Capital Partners LLP in 2007. Regard’s Managing Director and co-founder John Farragher, a Learning Disability nurse, remains at the heart of the provision of individualised care and support provided at local levels.
The Regard provides flexible and personalised support for people with Learning Disabilities, Mental Health Needs or Acquired Brain Injuries across supported living services and residential care homes in England and Wales. The group has grown steadily both organically and through acquisitions and now operates across 119 sites across the UK, providing 761 beds. It also operates services for children with learning disabilities and emotional and behavioural issues, which include specialist education provision.
Mike Hawkes, finance director at Regard, said: “Regard has grown carefully but robustly off the back of our philosophy of providing our Service Users with high quality, bespoke care packages. We are delighted to have put in place new facilities with the club, which will allow us to continue with our growth strategy.”
Bal Johal, Managing Partner, MML Capital Partners LLP, said: “Regard is a specialist provider of services in this sector. The culture of care instilled by its founders remains at the heart of Regard. The support of a new banking club is testament to management and the business. We are very pleased to have on board the market leaders in the banking sector."
For more information, contact Regard on 020 8255 4433 or visit www.regard.co.uk
