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OakNorth provides £10m facility to public listed company

Jordan Williams | 17:00 Wednesday 8th November 2017

OakNorth has completed a £10m debt finance deal for RM Secured Direct Lending PLC (RMDL).

RMDL – a closed-ended investment trust – specialises in secured debt for businesses and is listed on the London Stock Exchange.

It aims to generate dividends through secured loans to businesses sourced or originated by investment manager RM Capital.

These loans are mostly secured against assets, such as real estate, plant, machinery or income streams.

Since listing in December 2016, RMDL has invested in 21 loans across 11 sectors, such as healthcare, energy, property, hospitality and leisure.

Ben Barbanel, head of debt finance, and Mohith Sondhi, debt finance director, both at OakNorth, said: “We are very excited to have completed this transaction with RM Secured Direct Lending – not only is this our first transaction with a listed company, but it is also our first loan to an investment trust.

“Our credit committee was reassured by the extensive experience of the management team – over 120 years collectively – as well as RMDL's strong track record and diversified portfolio.

“Given that we have worked with RMDL on two transactions in the past, we also had a good understanding of how they operate.”

Last month, RMDL raised an additional £30m to build its portfolio of investments. The average yield on its investments is 8.26% with an average investment lifespan of 3.74 years.

James Robson, chief executive officer at RM Capital Markets, said: “We chose OakNorth because having worked with them with on two previous transactions, they understood our business and our needs and were able to provide a flexible and competitive offer to meet them, in the timescale required.”

RMDL previously partnered with OakNorth on two joint loans, to finance the development of the L'Oscar hotel in central London and to Strawberry Star for the purchase and development of a mixed-use site in Wandsworth.

James added: “We share a similar set of values and they also have an excellent understanding of the complex SME lending market and the unique needs of mid-market companies that we invest in.

“We look forward to deploying these funds into quality businesses.”

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