13 Oct 2020 07:00
13 October 2020
Arena Events Group plc
("Arena", the "Company" or the "Group")
Increased banking facilities
Arena Events Group plc, the integrated event solutions business, is pleased to announce that the Group has secured funding of £15.6m through the Government Coronavirus Large Business Interruption Scheme ("CLBILS"), supported by our lender, HSBC.
As part of securing this additional three-year lending facility, Arena has agreed to cancel its unused £4.75m HSBC overdraft facility which was put in place in March 2020. The CLBILS funding is repayable in instalments, with 20% of the funds drawn at the end of the first year being repayable through a quarterly profile in the second year, with another 20% payable across the third year and the remainder at the end of the period.
There are no other changes to the previously disclosed capital structure or covenant position.
Greg Lawless, CEO of Arena Group, commented "We are pleased to have been able to access the CLBILS scheme with the support of HSBC, which gives us greater financial flexibility and significant additional headroom as we navigate the challenging market resulting from the COVID-19 Pandemic.
The Pandemic continues to cause massive disruption to live events with most observers agreeing that a return to normality is still many months away. We anticipate that revenues from major sporting and other live events will therefore remain significantly below normal until the summer of next year. However, this additional funding, coupled with securing non-event revenues such as medical facilities and fixed cost reductions will enable the Group to continue to trade through during these extraordinarily difficult times. We are extremely fortunate to have the support of all our stakeholders as we continue to navigate our way through the economic realities of the Pandemic and look forward to a return to normality later in 2021."
Enquiries:
Arena Events Group plc
Greg Lawless, CEO (contact via Alma)
Steve Trowbridge, CFO
Cenkos Securities (Nomad & Broker)
Max Hartley (Corporate Finance) 0207 397 8900
Julian Morse (Sales)
Alma PR (Financial PR)
John Coles, Josh Royston, Helena Bogle 0203 405 0205
About Arena Events Group plc
Arena Events Group plc (www.arenagroup.com) is a provider of temporary physical structures, seating, ice rinks furniture and interiors. The Group has operations across the UK, the US, the Middle East, and Asia and current clients include Wimbledon Tennis Championships, The Open, the PGA European Tour and Ryder Cup.
The Group services major sporting, outdoor and leisure events, providing a managed solution from concept and design through to the construction and integration of the final structure and interior. Contracts range in size and complexity from simple equipment rental for a local outdoor event, to an integrated solution of multiple structures and interiors for a major international sporting event.