Daisy given £75m banking boost

Comms firm gets increased licence to continue shopping with revolving credit facility

Three is the magic number: a trio of banks, namely HSBC, Yorkshire Bank and Lloyds TSB, will provide the £75m facility

Daisy's drive to consolidate the SME telecoms arena has been boosted by the agreement of a £75m credit deal.

The three-year revolving facility has been agreed with Lloyds TSB, Yorkshire Bank and HSBC, with each providing a third of the £75m figure. The deal will replace Daisy's existing funding package and the telecoms firm indicated the cash would serve as "working capital and finance for further acquisitions".

Between the company's formation in 2001 and May of last year, Daisy bought about 20 companies. In July 2009 the company floated on the Alternative Investment Market, following its reverse acquisition of Freedom4Group.

The flotation proved the catalyst for an acquisitive frenzy, with hefty buy-outs closed since then including Eurotel, AT Communications, Redstone Telecom, Managed Communications and BNS Telecom. Daisy's chief financial officer Anthony Riley claimed the new finance package would allow the shopping spree to continue.

“We have been working with the banks for a number of months to put in place the best facility for Daisy," he said. "We are delighted that they have agreed to offer us this facility, having completed extensive due diligence on the strength of the business.

"From the perspective of Daisy, we are convinced this is the right deal for us, strengthening and supporting our model and enabling us to continue with our stated consolidation of the fragmented reseller market place.”