Access Group Expected £3.2B Debt Refinancing to Include PIK, Acquisition Line; Cov-Lite Unitranche Offered by 16 Funds

The £3.2 billion debt refinancing for U.K.-based business management software provider The Access Group is expected to feature about £2.5 billion cov-lite unitranche, for which around 16 funds have been competing, sources said. The deal, which could be the largest to date for the private credit industry in Europe, will include a PIK and an acquisition line.

Leverage on the unitranche would be about 7x and is expected to include a PIK, sources said. Some lenders have been proposing an acquisition line of £1 billion. Deloitte is advising the owners, Hg and TA Associates, in the refinancing which is expected to be completed by the end of the month.

As of June 30, 2021, the Access Group’s net debt amounted to £1.36 billion, according to its latest financial report. Total debt was £1.45 billion. The group’s total secured debt was £1.4 billion. Net leverage as of June 30, 2021, was 10.1x. The company’s incumbent lenders include Bain Capital, Barings, Arcmont, Park Square and GIC, sources said.

The company reported revenue of £317.6 million in 2021. EBITDA was £136 million.

A capital structure of the company is below:
 
In 2020, Park Square Capital provided a PIK financing facility to support Access in its acquisition of CoreHR. It also acquired Eclipse Legal Systems from Capita for £56.4 million that same year. The price reflected an enterprise value of £56.5 million on a cash and debt free basis which represents a multiple of 14.1x Eclipse’s EBITDA.

Access has grown through bolt-on acquisitions. The latest one was in March of Australian cloud-based recruitment platform unit FastTrack, according to a statement. In 2021, the group acquired CPL Learning, combining it with its sector-specific hospitality division. This was its sixth acquisition completed in 2021 after Eazipay, HAS Technology, Ezitracker, Acteol and My School Portal. The company acquired U.K. software company Servelec in September 2021, according to a statement at the time.

The company’s ultimate parent group is Armstrong Topco Ltd., which funds the group’s acquisitions and is the holding company of the units which make up The Access Group. Armstrong Topco Ltd. is controlled jointly by HG Capital and TA Associates.

Founded in 1991, The Access Group has 500 employees and over 60,000 customers, according to its website.