Leading Information Technology and Managed Services Provider (MSP), The Claranet Group Ltd has secured a £10.7million refinance package from The Royal Bank of Scotland (“RBS”).
Founded in 1996, The Claranet Group has evolved from being an Internet Service Provider (ISP) into most recently a MSP with annual revenues of around €100 million. The MSP business provides managed networks (which allow corporate clients to connect their workstations, laptops, printers and servers to a common network) and managed hosting (which relates to the physical hosting of a company’s IT infrastructure) to diverse range of corporate clients. The company has c520 employees with an international footprint in seven countries. Customers include Airbus, Vivendi, EMI, the Football Association and Five TV. Claranet was recently awarded the Best Business Fixed Broadband award at the 2009 Internet Service Providers’ Association Awards (ISPA).
RBS has provided a revolving credit facility to support the day to day running of the business and provide a secure platform for any future plans for growth. In addition specialists from the Lombard Technology Services team – part of the Lombard asset finance division of RBS - have provided a leasing facility to fund IT equipment for the Group. This ensures they are using the latest equipment to provide the highest level of service for customers, while matching the financing term and profile with the revenue generation from the equipment."
The support provided by RBS and Lombard has enabled us to secure a sound financial footing for future development of the business. We decided to lease the IT equipment as this was a more commercially viable solution to purchasing the equipment outright. The funding package comes on the back of our recent success at the ISPA awards which demonstrates further our commitment to providing excellent service to our customer base.Frank Dooley from Claranet Group Ltd
Helping customers like Claranet structure appropriate terms for their refinance is very important, especially in the current climate. RBS is committed to helping our customers weather this economic storm and by understanding their business and ensuring the best financial deal is agreed for our customers, we can help them to be in the right position to maintain and develop their business successfully. Working with our colleagues in Lombard we also recognised the opportunity to provide a leasing solution to fund the equipment required by Claranet.Andy Smith, Director in the RBS Corporate Leveraged Finance Team
Leasing is a logical and prudent way to finance your equipment. Some businesses may have previously used cash and working capital to invest in the equipment they require but in the current climate it is wise to free up your capital. Leasing provides another option for the funding of equipment whilst having a number of financial and non-financial benefits. Rather than owning the equipment it allows you to bring the latest equipment into your business and achieve the benefits and efficiencies you require without draining cash resources. We are delighted to support Claranet and provide them with a flexible funding solution for their IT to complement the refinance facilities provided by our colleagues in the banking team. Mark Turrell, Associate Director in Lombard Technology Services
For further information please contact:
Caroline Marsden
Senior Media Manager
Tel: +44 (0) 7769 910899
caroline.marsden@rbs.co.uk