Euro Garages doubles site count with new finance package

Euro Garages, the independent forecourt retailer, has agreed a new finance package to support its acquisition of 172 new sites.

The funding comprises senior debt facilities and is provided by a syndicate led by Lloyds Bank Commercial Banking. The seven bank club is made up of its incumbent banks of Handelsbanken, Barclays, Allied Irish Bank (AIB) and Pricoa Capital Group, and newcomers HSBC and RBS.

Lloyds Bank Commercial Banking’s Manchester-based Mid Markets team has supplied revolving credit facilities and term loans, along with one-third of a two-year term loan bridge facility.

The finance is being used to fund Euro Garages’ purchase of 104 existing Esso sites in the South East and 68 Shell sites, bringing the business’s footprint to around 360 service stations across the UK. As well as enhancing its geographical spread, the business will invest in its existing and newly acquired sites with refurbishments and improvements.

The business reported revenues for the 2014 financial year of £646m, and holds the preferred roadside partner agreement with Starbucks in the UK to operate its drive-through sites, as well as enjoying strategic partnerships with Subway, Greggs and Burger King to offer forecourt retail space.

Mohsin Issa, managing director of Euro Garages, said: “Our new financial arrangement marks a milestone moment for Euro Garages, as we almost double the breadth of our portfolio and extend our banking partners. Thanks to a number of key acquisitions across the UK in recent years, we have gained extensive experience in integrating new sites and are looking forward to transferring these new locations into the existing Euro Garages portfolio.

“With the support of Lloyds Bank and our other banking partners, we are set to become the second largest independent forecourt retailer in the UK, bringing our best-in-class convenience offer and brand partnerships to more customers across the UK while they fill up at the pump.”

Paul Foster, relationship director at Lloyds Bank Commercial Banking, said: “Euro Garages is a genuine example of a local business expanding successfully, having grown from just one forecourt in 2001 to a national estate portfolio of over 360 locations.

"This is in part down to the growth in the number of vehicles on the road and the consolidation of the petrol forecourt sector, as well as the increased demand from consumers for retail convenience for groceries and food-to-go, which the management team has capitalised on by developed partnerships with premium brands to encourage footfall and sales. “We have worked closely with Euro Garages for almost a decade, and leading the charge in this new funding deal reaffirms our commitment to their future success.”