Asset Alliance Group, specialists in commercial vehicle contract hire, finance and sales, is poised for significant growth and future acquisitions after securing a £75m revolving Asset Based Lending deal led by Royal Bank of Scotland and supported by HSBC.
The agreement strengthens the Group’s unique approach to purchasing, refinancing and procuring vehicles and trailers for its clients – using its own funds and buying power to supply multi-brand assets on any combination of contract hire, operating lease, finance lease or hire purchase.
Willie Paterson, Asset Alliance Group CEO, says: “ Our approach is unique and proving incredibly popular, making us one of the fastest growing companies in our sector. Thanks to this considerable finance package, our initial rapid development is set to continue apace, through both organic growth and potentially further acquisitions.
“An initial panel of more than 12 banks competed to secure our business, and the winning pairing of Royal Bank of Scotland and HSBC – as two of the largest – demonstrates the robust, reliable and fit-for-purpose nature of our business model – and the financial stability our customers can expect.”
Paterson adds: “The package uniquely strengthens and supports all areas of the Group’s businesses, underpinning our operations in the form of both increased stock of new and used assets to be sold and rented, and a stronger financial offering for customers needing a larger volume of assets.
“Also, the funding facility allows the Group to operate with increased efficiency, meaning faster quotations for our customers – and vehicles on the road quicker.”
The deal will benefit all corners of the Group’s business, including contract hire and leasing specialist Asset Alliance, temperature-controlled contract hire and leasing specialist Total Reefer, and ATE Truck and Trailer Sales, a major retailer of new and used commercial vehicles. It will also aid the continued growth and development of bus and coach sector specialist Forest Asset Finance, which the Group acquired in January 2016.
“By adding bus and coach finance to our services we can widen our client base and our portfolio of products and services. This ABL funding is helping to support our future growth strategy and diversification into new sectors,” Paterson adds.
The ABL facility is structured against Asset Alliance Group’s large portfolio of vehicle assets. Ernst & Young’s Manchester-based Capital & Debt Advisory team, led by Jashen Josson, supported the transaction throughout the process.
Matt Broomfield, Business Development Director for Royal Bank of Scotland Asset Based Lending in the Midlands, says: “I am delighted that we have been able to support Asset Alliance Group and its hugely experienced management team with this significant ABL facility. The company has achieved impressive growth during the last five years, and provision of this revolving facility will allow further development of their successful growth plans.”
