Nexus completes refinancing as it eyes new M&A growth spurt
Specialty broker Nexus Group has completed a refinancing via a new £70 million loan facility with Barings.
Some £50 million of the facility will be utilised to refinance Nexus’ current debt provider. The additional £20 million will be used to continue Nexus’ buy and build M&A strategy. The facility also has a significant accordion that offers additional support for future acquisitions or a transformational deal.
Colin Thompson (pictured), founder and CEO of Nexus, said: “When Nexus first raised debt capital in 2017, we were valued at £75m and had concluded five acquisitions. That capital raise enabled the conclusion of 15 further acquisitions and, alongside strong organic growth, helped drive a 3.1x increase in the equity value of Nexus to £234m as at 31st January 2021.
“In Barings, we are delighted to have a top tier institution to support the next stage of our growth. This financing capacity provides the additional firepower to back a very developed M&A strategy and take advantage of an active pipeline of opportunities. This includes a diverse range of global specialty MGA targets alongside a number of prospects that would complement our broking group, Xenia.
“We are witnessing a substantial bounce back in COVID-19 impacted areas, persistent rate hardening across all classes of business and a number of positive organic initiatives. Coupled with this debt raise and our M&A blueprint, we are now perfectly positioned to accelerate towards our stated $1bn GWP target in the near future.”
Matt Carty, director for Barings Global Private Finance, said: “Nexus has an excellent track record of successfully completing and integrating acquisitions, so Barings is very pleased to have the opportunity to support them in continuing with this strategy. We appreciate the trust Colin and the rest of the leadership team have placed in us and look forward to working with them.”
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