Skelmersdale-based waste vehicle lease firm NRG Riverside said it has completed a £455 million refinancing of its debt structure to position itself for the next phase of growth.
NRG and Astatine Investment Partners, NRG’s majority shareholder following its acquisition of the business in 2024, worked together to design a new financing structure for the business.
NRG said the new financing structure consists of bank and institutional facilities, which received an investment grade credit rating, and has been established under a common terms platform, providing future flexibility.
“This landmark transaction reflects the leading position with Local Authorities and private companies that NRG has built over the past 25+ years as a provider of the critical, specialised equipment required by its customers to perform essential waste collection services as well as other critical services including winter maintenance (gritters), highway maintenance, and infrastructure activities,” said NRG Riverside.
“The refinancing strengthens NRG’s ability to invest significantly in its fleet to meet growing customer demand, driven by the introduction of food waste recycling legislation (which requires further specialist vehicle types), as well as further adoption of electric vehicles and continued expansion in other infrastructure vehicle segments (such as gritters and highway maintenance).
“This further planned investment will enable the business to continue partnering with Local Authorities, providing high-quality, reliable equipment and maintenance services, allowing them to fulfil their statutory duties around waste collection, in a capital efficient way.
“NRG is at the forefront of supporting the energy transition through decarbonisation of its fleet, allowing Local Authorities to advance towards their Net Zero objectives.”
Darren Powell, CEO of NRG, said: “This refinancing reflects the absolute strength of our outstanding business, and the talent and experience of our management team.
“The structure supports our long-term objectives and highlights our extremely robust market-leading position as the largest Contract Hire and Maintenance provider of specialist infrastructure assets in the Waste and Highways sectors.
“The new facility allows us to accelerate our strategic growth plans in existing vertical markets while offering new innovative solutions to customers who struggle with the high levels of capex 2 and proactive maintenance requirements of new and ageing fleet.
“It also provides the capital required to acquire EBITDA-generative specialist vehicle providers in strategic geographic areas. We are proud of the strong confidence shown from our existing and new lender partners in securing this transformational refinancing.”
Fran Reed, CFO of NRG, said: “The refinancing package totals £455 million, comprising a £190 million term loan drawn at close and £265 million in capex / RCF facilities.
“This strengthens our balance sheet and provides a more efficient funding structure for the business to continue its growth, both organically and, potentially, through acquisitions. We are delighted to have been supported by a syndicate of market-leading banks and institutions, which demonstrates the confidence in our business and our growth strategy.”
Jim Metcalfe, CEO of Astatine, said: “NRG’s investment grade financing package is conservatively structured to allow funding of future growth from debt financing plus internally generated cash flow and to issue significant ongoing distributions.
“One of the ways Astatine creates value is to identify underappreciated companies with investment grade characteristics, then work with management such as NRG to recapitalize and reposition those companies in the infrastructure sector.”
The lender group involved in the refinancing includes DWS, HSBC, MetLife, MUFG, NatWest and Nord LB.
NRG’s advisers on the refinancing included: Rothschild & Co (Financial Adviser), Kirkland & Ellis (Borrower Legal Counsel), PwC (Financial Due Diligence), CIL Management Consultants (Commercial Due Diligence), Hogan Lovells (Transaction Legal Structuring), and Alvarez & Marsal (Transaction Tax Structuring). Latham & Watkins acted as Legal Counsel to the Lenders.