Cookson to raise £200

The new facility, which was over-subscribed, was arranged with Cookson’s group of nine core relationship banks and is for a term of three years, with options to extend for a further two years. The facility is unsecured, with all security and guarantees under the previous facility being fully released. Borrowings under the facility will be used for general corporate purposes. Taking account of the new facility, together with the Group’s existing private placement notes, total committed borrowing facilities available to the Group now amount to approximately £500 million. Commenting on the refinancing, Cookson’s Chief Executive Nick Salmon said: “In our strategy statement on 18 January we indicated that we intended to refinance the Group’s core bank facilities in the first half of this year. This is now complete and we are delighted by the strong demonstration of continuing support we have received from our long-established group of relationship banks. “The improved pricing and terms of the new facility, particularly the full release of security, reflect the significant improvement in the Group’s financial condition. The new facility underpins the Group’s operational and strategic objectives for the future.”