CooperBurnett advises Pinden on refinancing and expansion package

Tunbridge Wells-based law firm CooperBurnett LLP recently advised its client Pinden Ltd, based in Dartford, Kent, during the completion of a refinance and expansion package worth £5.7 million. The deal, brokered by Integritas Financial Solutions, has allowed Pinden Ltd to move from its existing bank as well as enabling it to make further strategic acquisitions.

CooperBurnett has acted for Pinden Ltd, a fourth-generation family company within the waste management sector, for nearly 20 years.

“We were delighted to support our long-standing client Pinden Ltd during this refinancing,” says Victoria Sampson, Partner and Head of Corporate and Commercial Services, who worked on the deal alongside Commercial Property Partner Jonathan Rowe. “It was a complex group refinancing transaction which involved both our Corporate and Commercial Property teams and we worked closely as a team alongside Pinden, Integritas and the new bank’s legal team.”

She continues: “The transaction threw up a number of hurdles which we navigated our client through. We are pleased that Pinden Ltd is now in a position to continue with its expansion programme.”

Says Peter Osmond, Head of Finance at Pinden Ltd: “The Group have relied on Victoria, Jonathan and the team at CooperBurnett for their legal needs for nearly two decades and, as ever, they ‘got the job done’ for us in the most effective and stress free way, breaking down the issues and advising in a clear, concise and commercial fashion.”

The directors of Pinden Ltd approached Integritas Financial Solutions, which specialises in brokering acquisition and MBO funding for SME businesses, when they felt they were being hampered by restrictions imposed on them by their existing lender. Martin White and Paul Saunders, directors at Integritas Financial Solutions, were tasked with finding a new and more supportive bank, which could support the Pinden team as it takes the business to the next stage of its development.

“Martin and Paul’s understanding of the sector and the lending market has been invaluable in helping us to get our business in the right shape to borrow the money we needed and to then go to the market and find us a package of facilities that totally suits our business,” says Peter Osmond.

Adds Martin White, Director at Integritas Financial Solutions: “We worked with the directors to reconstruct the group’s activity, to maximise efficiency and profit performance. This enabled us to present the opportunity to the market in the best light and one of our challenger banks put together a persuasive package which really understood the client’s key needs and provided what they need right now and for the future, including an additional £1.5 million loan as a ‘fighting fund’ for any acquisition opportunities which may arise.”