Securing our future growth with £30 million debt funding from Santander UK
Following a period of substantial growth, we’ve built an orderbook of over 180,000 connections across a number of sectors including residential, commercial, data centres and electric vehicle charging.
With the support of our shareholders J Murphy & Sons and SGN, we’ve completed a deal to secure £30 million of debt funding from global bank Santander UK, marking the next stage in our evolution. The funds will finance the acquisition of additional regulated gas and electricity networks, which we will own and operate in perpetuity.
This investment supports our vision to become the first-choice, multi-utility network operator in Great Britain and allows us to help accelerate the transition to net zero by continuing to promote and adopt greener utility infrastructure.
Our Asset Investment Director Jamie McAinsh explains: “The completion of the capex facility underlines our success so far and reinforces the confidence the financial community has in our business plan. This transaction marks the next stage in our evolution, creating a springboard for sustained future growth, as we ramp up to continue support the transition to net zero through smart acquisition of utility networks.”
Advisors on the transaction included:
• Debt: Mazars
• Lender: Santander
• Legal: Addleshaw Goddard LLP and CMS
• Technical and Commercial: PA Consulting
• Model: Operis
• Finance and Tax: Mazars
• Interest Rate Swap: Chatham Financial
Jonathan Corcoran, Director Specialised and Project Finance, Santander UK said: “We are delighted to have supported mua with this funding which will support the company's ambitious expansion plans. mua is critical in bridging the gap between energy supplier and energy distributors and our funding will support their transition towards net zero, a crucial part of our sustainability strategy too.”
Ben Morris, Partner – Energy, Infrastructure and Environment at Mazars, said: “It has been a real pleasure for Mazars to work with mua and Santander and get this transaction over the line. The capex facility helps mua fund its continuing growth and provides a positive signal that debt transactions can close successfully in the sector despite the recent market volatility.”
Our Managing Director Gregory Addison-Smyth added: “We are very pleased to receive financing from Santander to fund growth in the acquisition of infrastructure assets to support our journey to net zero.
“This funding is an endorsement of our strategy which, through our clients and partners, allows us to continue to invest in long-life utility assets to connect homes and businesses across Great Britain to essential utility infrastructure, safely delivering energy and multi-utility services through our networks in the simplest, smartest and greenest way possible.
“I would like to thank Santander and all our advisors, in particular Mazars and Addleshaw Goddard LLP, for their support in concluding the transaction.”