Duke Royalty pays down balance of new revolving credit facility

Alternative capital provider Duke Royalty announced on Monday that, further to the completion of its recent fundraising, it has paid down the outstanding balance of its new revolving credit facility from £11.65m to nil.

The AIM-traded firm had announced its new £30m credit facility on 10 September, provided by Honeycomb Investment Trust, which it said would enable it to benefit from material annual interest savings, as it carried an interest rate of one-month UK LIBOR plus 7.25%, down from a previous plus 9.5%.

It said that, when utilising the accordion provision, the new credit facility provided it with material additional headroom of a further £20m, enabling access to total capital of up to £50m under the facility, subject to loan thresholds.

“Taking the net proceeds of the fundraising together with the substantial capital available under the new credit facility, Duke is well placed to execute its strategy,” said chief executive officer Neil Johnson.

“Paying down the outstanding balance of the new revolving credit facility was a key commitment of our recent fundraising, so I am delighted to report this milestone which saves interest and reduces the inefficiencies of idle cash on our balance sheet.

“We look forward to continuing to diversify our portfolio through investing in new royalty partners as well as follow-on investments into existing partners.”

As at 1025 GMT, shares in Duke Royalty were up 0.45% at 44.2p.