International law firm Pinsent Masons has advised B&S Group (B&S), the family-owned integrated pharmaceuticals supply and distribution business, on securing £85 million in asset-based lending (ABL) facilities from a three-bank club led by HSBC Invoice Finance and including Lloyds Bank and BNP Paribas Commercial Finance.

The new ABL facilities will be used to refinance B&S’s existing ABL facilities and support the growth of the business. B&S was advised on the refinancing by KPMG LLP.

Established in 1999, B&S has grown from a two-person business to turnover of £247m in 2017. B&S is headquartered in Perivale, West London, and employs over 500 people. As the UK’s largest parallel importer of pharmaceuticals and the UK’s largest short-line generic pharmaceuticals supplier, B&S supplies more than 4,000 pharmacies across the country.

Prash Patel, B&S’s Chief Financial Officer, said: “B&S is a well controlled disciplined business underpinned by strong family values, and our new ABL facilities provide us with a secure and flexible source of capital to support our operations and strategy going forward. The transaction was made possible by a supportive banking club, and we are grateful for the hard work and close support of our advisers KPMG LLP and Pinsent Masons LLP in helping us to negotiate a deal on competitive terms.”

Edward Sunderland, Structured Finance Partner at Pinsent Masons LLP, said: “This was our first transaction with B&S, who appointed us following a competitive process due to our firm wide expertise in both ABL financing and complex Pharmaceutical sector knowledge. We look forward to supporting them in their future growth plans.”

Marc Finer, Director, KPMG LLP, who leads KPMG’s debt advice on ABL transactions, added: “The terms of the deal, which saw several operating improvements to B&S’s previous ABL facilities, reflect strong lending appetite among ABL lenders for new deals. The smooth execution of a three-bank deal, which included B&S bringing a new lender into its business alongside two incumbent financiers, demonstrates the maturity of the ABL market.”