Vp negotiates new £65m finance facility with banks

Harrogate-based Vp is a specialist rental business providing products and services to a diverse range of markets including civil engineering, rail, water, oil and gas, construction, outdoor events and house building.

It operates primarily within the UK and has some overseas operations.

The £65m facility, which consists of two tranches with a three-year and four-and-a-half-year maturity, has been split equally between HSBC and Lloyds Bank Commercial Banking.

The transaction consolidates the company’s banking partners and marks the start of a new relationship with both HSBC and Lloyds Bank.

Vp has also moved its clearing banking to HSBC.

The deal was led on behalf of HSBC by senior corporate banking manager Neil Abbott.

Relationship director James Sparling led on behalf of Lloyds Bank, with the support of its Complex Deal Team.

Martin Lunt, HSBC’s regional head of corporate banking in Yorkshire and the North East, said: “We are pleased to welcome Vp to HSBC and to have supported this important deal.”

Jim Sparling, relationship director for Lloyds Bank Commercial Banking in West and North Yorkshire, said: “Vp is a major employer and major contributor to the Yorkshire and wider economy, and our support gives it the backing it needs to pursue its long-term growth strategy. The team at Lloyds Bank are both delighted and proud to be associated with this jewel in the Yorkshire crown.”

The group said trading through winter was “satisfactory”, and it expects to report profits for the year to the end of March in line with expectations.

Vp rents out equipment ranging from hydraulic ground supports capable of holding up to 500 tonnes to temporary aluminium roadways to powered hand tools.

It said while there has been “no tangible improvement” in market conditions, most sectors have remained stable.

“A sustained demand from regulated infrastructure markets has continued to provide a solid base for the group, in the face of soft general construction demand,” said Jeremy Pilkington, chairman of Vp.

Despite weakness in the liquefied natural gas (LNG) sector, Vp said it has won LNG contracts in the Asia Pacific region.

Vp has rebounded strongly from its 2009/10 trough, when revenues plunged 15 per cent to £134.2m and it was forced to axe eight per cent of its workforce.