Reading: Spectrum raises new debt facilities for BIMM Group

Spectrum Corporate Finance, based in Reading, has successfully led the arranging and structuring of new debt facilities totalling £12 million to finance the continued growth of the BIMM Group on behalf of the company and Sovereign Capital. 

BIMM Group is the UK and Ireland’s leading provider of modern music further and higher education, and has been backed by Sovereign Capital since 2010.

The Group was first established in 2001 in Brighton and has subsequently expanded with the opening of a new college in Bristol in 2008, the acquisition of Tech Music School in London in 2010, and the opening of a further new college in Dublin in 2011.

BIMM and Sovereign Capital saw the opportunity to further develop the BIMM business through continued geographic expansion within the UK and the launch of a range of complementary new degree courses, and had identified an exciting growth strategy that involved further expansion of the college facility in Dublin, the relocation of the Tech Music Schools into one purpose-designed site in Central London, and the opening of a new college in Manchester. Achievement of this strategy, however, required a meaningful increase in the Group’s debt facilities.

Working closely with the BIMM management team. Spectrum generated strong interest from several mainstream debt providers in a competitive process. The deal was successfully concluded with BIMM’s existing debt providers with Barclays Bank’s south debt team providing a competitive and flexible package of debt facilities to finance all of the strategic growth plans and secure the next phase of development, without the need for additional equity investment.

Dyson Bogg, investment director at Sovereign Capital, commented: “We were extremely pleased with the service from Spectrum which resulted in BIMM’s receiving a highly-competitive and flexible debt package.”

Spectrum Corporate Finance partner Ian Mine said: “We were delighted to work with both Sovereign and the excellent team at BIMM Group on this assignment. BIMM benefits from highly-visible and locked-in revenues that proved attractive to debt providers and the successful project outcome is, in my opinion, a demonstration that strong debt appetite exists in the current market for good businesses with well-thought-through proposals.”

Nick Frogbrook, group finance director of BIMM Group, commented: “We were grateful to Spectrum for the experience and market perspective they brought to this transaction and the supportive and committed involvement right from the outset.”