Big Yellow secures refinancing package

SELF STORAGE business Big Yellow Group has completed the refinancing of its existing bank facilities, lowering the average cost of debt and an increasing the average unexpired term of its debt facilities to 7.8 years.

The Surrey-based group signed a five year £145m loan facility with Lloyds Bank and HSBC, expiring in August 2019. Half of the bank facility is term and 50% is revolving. On completion, the facility has £72m drawn.

A further seven-year £70m facility was agreed with M&G Investments. The loan will be secured over a portfolio of 15 freehold self-storage centres. Half of the seven year loan is fixed by way of a forward start interest rate derivative, the balance of the loan is variable based off three month LIBOR plus margin. The average cost of the M&G loan at the current rate of LIBOR will be 3.75%.

The group also agreed a short term bridging facility of £70m with Lloyds Bank, which is repayable immediately on the drawdown of the M&G loan.

John Trotman, chief financial officer of Big Yellow said: “We are delighted to have refinanced our core bank facility and further diversified our lending pool through the new loan from M&G.

“These committed facilities, coupled with our existing £95.7m loan from Aviva, have significantly increased the average unexpired term of our debt facilities…In total we now have £238m drawn out of our total committed facilities.”