Together Financial Services has refinanced its revolving Charles Street securitisation programme (CABS) while improving commercial terms and extending its maturity from September 2023 to March 2027.
The senior advance rate for the £1.25 billion facility has been increased, with the rating of the senior notes reaffirmed at AA. The total facility advance rate also increased, providing for the immediate release of up to £23m of equity to be used to support the Group’s continued growth strategy.
The extension in maturity to 2027 provides substantial depth to the Group’s funding profile, increasing the weighted average maturity from 3.3 years to 3.9 years on amounts currently drawn, and up to 3.3 years on a fully drawn basis.
In addition, Together says a reduction in all-in margin is reflective of the performance and mix of assets supported by the CABS facility.
The refinancing further simplifies and aligns the Group’s funding structure to its assets, with the CABS facility now solely financing Term loans secured against residential property and therefore more closely aligned to Together’s residential mortgage backed securitisation (RMBS) programme.
Bridging loans will now be fully financed through the Group’s other securitisations and the Senior Secured Notes.
CABS 1 was first launched in 2007 as a £500m revolving securitisation facility. In 2014, the facility was increased to £675m and obtained AA ratings from Moody’s and DBRS, before being further extended to £1bn in 2016 and £1.25bn in 2018. Due to the number of amendments, Together has taken the opportunity to close down CABS 1 and re-issue it as a new facility CABS 2.
Over the past 15 months, Together has raised or refinanced over £4.0bn of facilities across 10 transactions, including senior secured note issuances and private and public securitisations.
Gary Beckett, group managing director and chief treasury officer of Together, said: “The successful refinancing of our CABS securitisation on significantly improved terms is a testament to the continued strength of Together’s business and in particular, the strong performance of our residential mortgage backed assets.
“This facility continues to support our RMBS issuance programme along with providing further depth to our funding profile and in turn supporting our future growth plans.”