Hg completes refinancing of A-Plan

Hg Capital Trust plc

Hg, the Manager of HgCapital Trust plc ("the Company"), today announces that it has completed a refinancing of A-Plan, a leading independent high-street insurance broker in the UK.

The terms of the transaction are not disclosed.

The Company, whose shares are listed on the London Stock Exchange, gives private and institutional investors the opportunity to participate in all Hg's investments.

The Company will realise estimated cash proceeds of approximately £13.7 million on completion of this transaction. (Note that this figure only relates to HgCapital Trust's investment in A-Plan.)

Based on the 30 November 2018 NAV, the pro-forma NAV of HgCapital Trust remains at £777.2 million (or 2,082.3 pence per share). The Company's liquid resources available for future deployment (after adjusting for all announced transactions) are estimated to be £135 million (17% of the pro-forma 30 November 2018 NAV). In addition, the Company has access to a £80 million standby facility, which is currently undrawn.

Hg completes refinancing of A-Plan

A-Plan is a leading UK multichannel insurance broking group offering a wide range of products focused on personal and SME commercial lines, with more than 1.5 million live policies.

Hg partnered with the company in 2015, recognising A-Plan's best-in-class customer success model - a personal, service-oriented approach leading to very high levels of customer satisfaction, driving high retention rates and low customer acquisition costs, alongside strong organic growth.  Since then, Hg has worked with management to execute a strategic M&A programme, upgrade data and software capabilities and further diversify A-Plan into specialist market segments.

The decision to complete a refinancing of the business has been driven by A-Plan's strong and consistent trading performance, with the company delivering double-digit earnings growth over the last 4 years. 

Following this refinancing, just under £200 million of proceeds will have been returned to the Hg7 fund, representing c. 1.3x original cost of the A-Plan investment, with no sell-down of Hg's equity ownership

Overall, the Hg7 Fund has now returned more than 60% of invested capital to clients, with a 25% gross IRR as at September 2018, and further liquidity events planned in the coming months.

For further details:

About HgCapital Trust plc

HgCapital Trust plc, whose shares are listed on the London Stock Exchange (ticker: HGT.L), gives investors exposure through a liquid vehicle to a portfolio of high-growth private companies in the technology and tech-enabled sector. The selection of new investments and creation of value in these businesses are managed by Hg, an experienced and well-resourced private equity firm with a long-term track record of delivering superior risk-adjusted returns for its investors. For further details, please see www.hgcapitaltrust.com.

The contents of the Hg, HgCapital Trust and A-Plan's websites and any website accessible from hyperlinks on such websites (or any other website) are not incorporated into, and do not form part of, this announcement.