THE Royal Bank of Scotland revealed yesterday it had provided a £125million refinancing package to oil and gas service company GulfMark Offshore (GLF).
The company provides marine transport, with 92 vessels operating from various locations around the world.
GLF has a significant UK presence, with more than 600 of its 2,000 global workforce employed on 25 vessels operated from its Aberdeen base.
Perry Kennedy, managing director of GLF’s North Sea operations, said: “We are grateful to the team at RBS for their continued support and look forward to building further on our existing relationship with them. This refinancing keeps us on a solid footing and allows us to focus exclusively on the delivery of our business strategy.”
RBS said it was a long-term banking partner to GLF, having worked with the business since the early 1990s.
The new deal with RBS replaces a previous one with DVB Bank, of Germany.
The seeds of the refinancing deal were sown last May when RBS delegates attended the Offshore Technology Conference in Houston, where GLF has its global headquarters.
Derek Busby, Aberdeen and north of Scotland director with RBS Corporate Banking, said: “We are very pleased to have increased our support for GulfMark Offshore, a major player in the market here in Aberdeen and indeed around the world.
“GLF is an ambitious business with great diversification of vessel sizes, geography and capability, giving it an excellent platform for growth.”
Mr Busby said that, in terms of what was happening more generally in the market, RBS Corporate Banking’s work-in-progress list was healthy.
He added: “We are at various stages of advancement on transactions, which could see us provide significant amounts of new debt to more than half a dozen companies over the next few months.
“Unsurprisingly, the majority of these firms operate in the oil and gas sector and the reasons driving the demand for debt are mixed, with some firms looking to invest in new assets, some requiring increased working capital . . . and others, like GLF, looking to refinance their existing bank debt. So, while demand for new debt has been weaker this year as many companies prudently aim to reduce debt levels, we are beginning to see customers developing an appetite to borrow money and invest in their businesses.
“We at RBS are both willing and able to support credit-worthy customers.
“We also continue to work closely with our colleagues in project finance, who support exploration and production businesses in the North Sea and remain the leading provider of funds in the independent exploration and production area. The team in London is currently working on two of the largest development financings yet done in the North Sea, including the financing of the Breagh gas development.”
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