Specialist early-stage investor B.P. Marsh & Partners has announced the successful completion of a refinancing exercise that’s seen the early repayment of £4 million in loans.
Simultaneously to this refinancing, B.P. Marsh has acquired a further 2.49% shareholding in Nexus, from a founding shareholder.
Nexus has now secured a new £70 million banking facility from the global investment manager Barings.
This facility will be utilised in two ways, with £50 million being used to refinance existing debt and meet upcoming deferred consideration payments, with the balance available for new acquisitions.
This financing provides Nexus with the opportunity to make further acquisitions and enter the next phase of its growth.
Alongside this fundraising, B.P. Marsh has acquired a further 100,000 shares in Nexus for £4 million from Ian Whistondale, a founding non-management shareholder.
B.P. Marsh saw this as an opportunity to allow a founding shareholder to partially realise the value of his equity in Nexus, whilst enabling it to acquire a further 2.49% shareholding in Nexus.
Following this share purchase, the group’s fully diluted shareholding in Nexus has increased to 19.18%. B.P. Marsh is now the largest individual shareholder in Nexus, with management and employees continuing to own over 50% of the business.
“This debt facility provides Nexus with the ability to satisfy our long-term growth aspirations, increasing both Gross Written Premium and EBITDA via organic growth and from new acquisitions,” said Colin Thompson, Nexus Founder and Group CEO.
Dan Topping, Chief Investment Officer of the company, addend, “With this successful debt raising Nexus is well set for its next phase of transformational growth, taking the business to $1billion of Gross Written Premium Income, and we are looking forward to working with them to further deliver significant equity value uplift.
“The Group first acquired a 5% in shareholding in Nexus in 2014, seeing this as a unique opportunity to structure a transaction whereby we would not only be able to increase our shareholding to our more usual percentage, but also to support and assist the management team at Nexus to grow the business significantly.
“As evidenced by their performance, management have achieved a tremendous amount and a considerable ongoing return for the Company.”
