Background

The management of Norfolk-based Easy Cleaning Solutions Ltd acquired the business with the aim of developing one of the UK’s leading cleaning product facilities into a modern, effective and innovative manufacturer of private-label and own-brand cleaning solutions.

The company had 260 employees, with a factory in Thetford and an executive office in London. At the time of the acquisition, the management team had already identified the need to refinance the business once its restructuring plan had been delivered, and its strategic transition to a largely private-label supplier had been completed.

Action

FRP’s Debt Advisory team was asked to conduct a competitive process to identify a new asset-based lender. The aim of the process was to maximise the availability of working capital, which could then fund continued profit growth through increased sales to the company’s impressive roster of blue-chip customers.

The wealth of experience among Easy Cleaning Solutions’ management team, coupled with the company’s impressive and well-defined development plan and its range of high-quality assets, prompted a great deal of interest – and a range of offers from leading asset-based lenders. Having reviewed and considered the core collateral and financial data, the team identified those lenders who offered the best fit for the company’s key refinancing requirements. Two lenders were then invited to meet the company’s management team, and both made excellent, highly competitive refinancing offers.

Outcome

The team explored both options with the client, and following discussions with the lenders, both offers were further improved. Easy Cleaning Solutions then selected its preferred financing partner whose structure offered the greatest flexibility. FRP’s Debt Advisory team continued to advise the company during the legal documentation stage and through to completion of the refinance.