HSBC refinances Dunedin buyout

HSBC has agreed a £19.5 million refinancing package for software consulting group Trustmarque Solutions, acquired last month by UK mid-market private equity group Dunedin for £43 million.

Dunedin made use of what it calls its 'DebtBridge' product, a means to cover the debt portion of a buyout in the short term until more long-term financing can be arranged. The Trustrmarque buyout was the fifth time Dunedin had bridged the debt portion of a buyout, it said. 

HSBC's leveraged finance team has been active in the UK mid-market recently, backing ISIS Equity Partners' investment in recruitment company Nigel Frank International and LGV Capital portfolio company Liberation  Group's acquisition of six Channel Island pubs.

Investment banking boutique Livingstone Partners advised on the deal, securing the £19.5 million from HSBC, with additional capacity for further financing to support acquisitions.

Dunedin partner Mark Ligertwood said in a statement: “Livingstone’s experienced debt advisory team gave us confidence that we would secure optimal debt facilities to support Trustmarque’s growth ambitions. They efficiently delivered an excellent senior debt package, on the best terms, within a month of completing the acquisition, refinancing our DebtBridge.” 

Bill Troup, managing director of Livingstone Partners'd debt advisory group, added: “We ran a competitive process to secure a debt package tailored to Trustmarque’s needs. Through securing detailed but conditional offers of support from a number of potential lenders, we were able to provide Dunedin with the certainty to fund the deal 100 percent through their own resources. We were then able to complete the refinancing of those facilities within a month of the buyout concluding.”