Hedging Arrangements

RNS Number : 0992P

Big Yellow Group PLC

19 March 2009

 



BIG YELLOW GROUP PLC

19 March 2009

Big Yellow Group PLC

("Big Yellow" or "the Company")

Hedging Arrangements

Big Yellow Group PLC, The UK's leading self storage brand, today announces that it has restructured the interest rate hedges on the majority of its debt.

The Group has terminated interest rate derivatives hedging £190 million of the Group's debt of weighted average expiry of 2.8 years. The break cost was £15.2 million.  In addition, the Group has re-hedged £120 million by way of a vanilla swap at 2.99% (plus applicable margin) until September 2015 (two years beyond the expiry of the Group's core banking facility). This sits alongside the existing vanilla swap of £70 million taken out last November at 3.93% (plus applicable margin)

Following this restructuring, the Group's debt will have the following all-in interest cost profile at today's floating rate and margin.

Amount of debt	All-in-rate	Expiry
£70 million	5.3%	September 2013
£120 million	4.1%	September 2015
£121 million	2.3%	Floating, payable on one month LIBOR

The blended cost of the debt above is 3.7% inclusive of margin. At these levels of one month LIBOR, this would reduce the Group’s annual interest cost by approximately £5.4 million and should in our estimation increase the annualised quarterly Income Cover Ratio going forward on the £268 million Investment Tranche B debt to just over 3 times. The remaining £43 million Tranche A debt is not subject to any income cover tests.

James Gibson, CEO, comments: 

"This transaction significantly improves our cashflow going forward, and gives us the opportunity of benefiting from current low floating interest rates whilst giving us some enhanced protection in the longer term in the event that inflationary pressures increase. We will continue to closely monitor the exposure to the floating rate element of our debt."

For further information, please contact:
Big Yellow Group PLC	01276 477 811
Nicholas Vetch, Executive Chairman James Gibson, Chief Executive John Trotman, Chief Financial Officer
Weber Shandwick Financial	020 7067 0700
Nick Oborne/John Moriarty

Notes to Editors  

Big Yellow Group PLC is one of the leading and most dynamic self-storage groups in the UK. It was founded in 1998 by Nicholas Vetch, Philip Burks and James Gibson and listed on AIM in May 2000, moving to the Official List of the London Stock Exchange in 2002.

Big Yellow has expanded rapidly and now operates (both directly and within Big Yellow Limited Partnership) from 53 stores, 50 in London and the South, and one each in Leeds, Sheffield, and Birmingham with a further 18 stores in development and of the 71, 61 are held freehold and three long leasehold, together representing more than 90% of the portfolio.  All the stores have the distinct yellow branding, in accessible main road locations, with the majority being within the M25 or in strong urban conurbations.  When fully built out the portfolio will provide approximately 4.6 million sq ft of flexible storage space.

The Group has pioneered the development of the latest generation of self-storage facilities, which utilise state of the art technology and are located in high profile, main road locations.  Its focus on the location and visibility of its buildings, coupled with excellent customer service, has created the most recognised brand name in the UK self-storage industry.

 

END

 

 

MSCJPMRTMMJBBRL