British outsourcer Interserve agrees new funding deal

March 21 (Reuters) - British construction and servicescompany Interserve said on Wednesday it reached anagreement in principle with its creditors which will secure itsfunding.

Interserve, which warned in October that it may breachcovenants after a trading downturn, said its lenders had agreedto extend a covenant test deferral date and the maturities ofthe financing facilities to April 30 from March 31, agreed inDecember.

Two additional credit facilities comprising of cashfacilities of 196.6 million pounds ($276.54 million) and bondingfacilities of up to 95 million pounds, maturing Sept. 2021, havealso been agreed, Interserve said.

In total, the company will have cash borrowing facilities of834 million pounds immediately following the refinancingcompletion, Interserve said.Outsourcers such as Interserve have been the focus of investorattention since rival Carillion entered liquidation inJanuary, putting 43,000 jobs at risk.

Interserve's shares had fallen sharply in January after thecollapse of Carillion. They rose strongly on Wednesday andclosed 25 percent higher.($1 = 0.7109 pounds)(Reporting by Rahul B in Bengaluru. Editing by Jane Merriman)