FINANCE: Punch Taverns has finally secured sign-off from stakeholders for its rescue restructuring proposals.
The UK’s second-largest pub owner this morning confirmed that bondholders and shareholders had agreed to its latest proposals to restructure its £2.3bn debt pile.
The debt-for-equity deal will mean shareholders are left with 15% of the equity while bondholders take over the remainder of the stock. As a result, debt will be cut by £600m to around £1.8bn.
Punch owns around 4,000 inns in Britain. It ran up the debt pile through a pre-crisis expansion spree.
The current proposals are the group’s fifth restructuring proposal in the long-running process.
The plan still needs to be approved by the Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds Banking Group, which are providing liquidity to its two current securitisations, Punch A and Punch B.
As long as it gets those approvals, it expects the restructuring to take place on 8 October.
bridget.oconnell@estatesgazette.com
