Howden Group, the global insurance intermediary, has confirmed the successful repricing of its $3.1bn USD Term Loan B due 2031 and its £765m Revolving Credit Facility (RCF).
In this transaction which completed on 8 August, the Term Loan B margin was reduced by 25bps to 275bps over SOFR, and the RCF margin was also repriced concurrently, benefitting from market conditions and reflecting continued confidence among credit investors in the Group’s performance.
This transaction will lower interest costs and the Term Loan B repricing will result in expected gross annualised savings of approximately $8 mn per annum.
I’m delighted that we’ve achieved one of the tightest pricing levels for leveraged loans by an insurance broker in this ratings category, as Howden continues to be well-supported by the capital markets.
Mark Craig, Group Chief Financial Officer, Howden
“Being able to make our borrowing more efficient puts us in an even stronger position to continue delivering on our ambitious growth plans,” Mark Craig commented.
“Howden’s leverage remains below many of our peers. Our market-leading organic growth, driven by our differentiated business model, is well above that of our listed peers and continues to make us an attractive proposition for our credit and equity investors.
We continue to implement this growth strategy globally. Last week, we announced our plans to bring our unique entrepreneurial model to the U.S. retail insurance broking market.
“So, it’s satisfying to see blue chip institutional lenders and banks support the refinancing of our debt at such historically attractive levels in the same week.”
The Group’s ratings are at B2 Stable (Moody’s) and B Stable (S&P), maintaining one of the best ratings among privately-owned levered brokers. The Group benefits from a long-dated maturity profile with no refinancing requirements until 2030.
