David O'Connell, managing director of Geneva Finance, at the finance company's annual meeting in 2008. The former finance company has now paid back all its investors. Photo / NZ Herald
GFNZ Group, the finance company formerly known as Geneva Finance, says it has concluded talks on a series of funding transactions worth $27.5 million that will allow it to repay debenture holders, existing bank and other debt.
The core part of the new arrangements is a $30 million securitised debt
facility with Westpac Bank, the company said. It also has agreement from a group of investors including two Geneva directors to provide a $5 million debt facility for its Stellar Collections debt collection unit and 33 per cent shareholders Federal Pacific Group has agreed to provide a $5 million unsecured loan to parent GFNZ.
The new funding arrangements will allow the company to settle all outstanding debt to debenture holders, repay its facility with BOS International (Australia) and repay funds provided from other investors, on August 1, it said. As a result it expects to formally exit a moratorium entered into in November 2007 when it owed some $132.4 million to investors.
"This transaction is the culmination of nearly six years hard work," said managing director David O'Connell. "When we began this journey in 2007, no one had heard of the global financial crisis and no one forecast one of the worst recessions in New Zealand's history."
Exiting the moratorium would be "very satisfying," he said.
