SME News December 2017

20 SME NEWS / December 2017 , LGB Corporate Finance establishes £10m secured loan note programme for SRTMarine Systems PLC, with the debt funding package set to provide SRTwith a flexible source of secured debt financing for working capital and investment in new product development. SME Specialist Lender Announces New Development LGB Corporate Finance has arranged a £10million secured loan note programme for AIM-quoted SRT Marine Systems PLC (“SRT”), one of the UK’s leading providers of maritime tracking, management and surveillance technologies. An initial issue of £2 million of secured loan notes was completed concurrent with the establishment of the programme. The first issue of loan notes have a three year term and pay interest at 8.0% per annum. SRT supplies technologies, products and systems which provide maritime domain awareness (MDA). Its systems are used across a broad range of applications including maritime border control and security, fishery monitoring and management, infrastructure monitoring, search and rescue and environment monitoring. SRT’s products provide customers with information, analysis, dynamic event visualisation and management functionality that enable them to understand, monitor, control and manage maritime activities. Funds from the programme will help finance SRT’s working capital requirements to support the growth of its maritime domain awareness (“MDA”) business and partially finance its long- term investment in innovative product development, specifically the building of a satellite vessel monitoring programme, OCEAN- SCAN, which will provide long range tracking data to MDA system customers with the aim of further strengthening the Group’s recurring revenue streams. Secured loan note programmes geared towards the lower-mid market have been pioneered by LGB Corporate Finance to address a significant funding gap faced by UK SMEs that has not been filled by either bank debt or alternative sources of private capital. The loan notes are secured, fixed-rate, medium- term debt securities issued by SMEs and growth business, with regular, fixed cash yield of 5-10% per annum, with maturities varying between six months and five years. Angus Grierson, Managing Director of LGB Corporate Finance said: “SRT is acknowledged as the market leader for its core AIS technologies which are fast becoming a global standard to supplement radar systems used in the maritime industry. The debt financing package will help SRT to fund its working capital and invest in product development, most notably the OCEAN-SCAN satellite programme which will further strengthen the Group’s recurring revenue streams. We are delighted to have provided SRT with the funding it needs to take the business to the next level.” Simon Tucker, CEO of SRT Marine Systems PLC, commented: “As a fast growing international business, SRT Marine Systems PLC needed to have access to a non-dilutive, flexible source of working capital. The LGB loan note programme provided an ideal solution to this requirement. The team at LGB Corporate Finance conducted extensive due diligence work to deeply understand our business and quickly and efficiently put in place a £10 million secured loan note programme for SRT with £2 million issued on day one. With many years of business financing experience, I was delighted with the robust, professional and efficient approach of LGB Corporate Finance and look forward to working with them in the future as SRT develops.”