Kingswood agrees new £8m unsecured debt facility

(Sharecast News) - Wealth and investment manager Kingswood Holdings announced the acquisition of a new £8.0m unsecured debt facility from funds managed by Pollen Street Capital on Friday.

The AIM-traded firm said the facility agreement, designed to bolster its capital requirements and support its growth trajectory, came with headline terms including an £8m facility size, an expiry date of no later than 17 October 2030, and an interest rate of 12%, compounded and payable upon maturity.

It said the transaction would position it to capitalise on emerging opportunities within the wealth and investment management landscape.

Kingswood noted that by entering into the facility, it was engaging in a related party transaction with HSQ Investment, a wholly owned indirect subsidiary of funds managed and/or advised by Pollen Street.

Lindsey McMurray and Duncan Gerard, both non-executive directors of Kingswood, were also employees of Pollen Street.

As a result, the agreement fell under the AIM rules as a related party transaction.

The firm's directors, excluding McMurray and Gerard, had thus conducted an evaluation of the terms of the facility agreement.

Following consultation with the company's nominated adviser Cavendish Capital Market, the directors said they deemed the terms fair and reasonable, safeguarding the interests of Kingswood's shareholders.

"Since their first investment in Kingswood in 2019, Pollen Street has been a great partner to the company and this additional investment demonstrates a further positive commitment towards our ambition to build a leading business in the sector," said group chief executive officer David Lawrence.

At 1041 GMT, shares in Kingswood Holdings were down 4.57% at 10.02p.

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.