Fleetscape Capital Limited (“Fleetscape”), the alternative capital provider to the maritime and offshore industries, has entered into an innovative financing structure with Macquarie Bank Limited (“Macquarie”), which provides a more efficient offer to vessel owners looking at higher leverage situations.
The financing provided by Macquarie is structured on securitisation principles and enables Fleetscape to offer sale-and-leaseback or unitranche financing on highly competitive terms. Coupled with Fleetscape’s unparalleled transaction-execution capabilities, the facility ensures that Fleetscape will remain one of the financing partners of choice for mid-sized and smaller vessel owners and operators seeking to raise innovative asset backed financing beyond the capabilities of their existing banking relationships.
Eight tankers have already been financed in the new structure[1], and in the future the vehicle will also include exposures to container ships and bulk carriers. The total number of vessels financed is expected to rise to double figures in Q1 2021; this pace of growth is anticipated to accelerate through 2021, as owners look for competitive capital structures to support their business.
Guillaume Bayol, Managing Director at Oaktree and Co-Portfolio Manager of the Fleetscape platform; said: “Fleetscape focuses on providing financing to small and mid-sized shipping groups, a segment that has suffered from significant retrenchment from traditional commercial banks, resulting in many of them being underbanked. This structure gives Fleetscape the ability to offer shipping groups lower and sustainable pricing whilst simplifying our documentation process and increasing our speed of execution. Fleetscape are already seeing an increase in demand from customers, including a number of new financings with target completion dates in Q1 of 2021.”
Marc Hari, Executive Director of Macquarie and Head of Shipping Finance, said: “This successful collaboration with Fleetscape is an exciting organic growth opportunity for Macquarie’s Shipping Finance team. The capital provided to the shipping sector through this novel structure builds on our past work with Fleetscape and will provide ship owners with more options when looking for financing.”
Macquarie’s Shipping Finance business currently provides traditional bank debt to ship owners in the tanker, bulker and container segments.
Stephenson Harwood LLP advised Fleetscape on the finalisation of the financing structure, with partner Ian Mace being assisted by Don Brown, Jennifer Ashford and Roxanne Chambers. Watson, Farley & Williams LLP advised Macquarie with partners Jim Bell, Lindsey Keeble and Dominic Pearson, being assisted by Jane Keith, Zara Hammersley, Alex Clark, Elsa Savvatianou, Natalie Grundy, Tamara Ristic and Ella Vries.
About Fleetscape Capital Holdings Limited
Fleetscape is an alternative capital provider to the maritime segments with headquarters in London and total investor commitments of $400 million. Fleetscape is an affiliate of funds managed by Oaktree Capital Management, L.P. (“Oaktree”). Oaktree is a leader among global investment managers specializing in alternative investments, with $148 billion in assets under management as of 31 December 2020. The firm emphasizes an opportunistic, value-oriented and risk-controlled approach to investments in credit, private equity, real assets and listed equities. The firm has over 1,000 employees and offices in 19 cities worldwide. For additional information, please visit Oaktree’s website at www.oaktreecapital.com.
About Macquarie Group
Macquarie Group Limited (Macquarie) is a diversified financial group providing clients with asset management and finance, banking, advisory and risk and capital solutions across debt, equity and commodities. Founded in 1969, Macquarie employs over 15,700 people globally. Macquarie’s assets under management (AUM) at 30 September 2019 were $A563.4 billion. For further information, visit www.macquarie.com.
About Macquarie Shipping Finance
Shipping Finance is a business within the Specialised & Asset Finance Division of Commodities and Global Markets. The business houses specialist asset finance professionals and shipping industry experts, focused on providing innovative and tailored solutions to ship owners in the tanker, bulker and container segments. Since the platform was launched Macquarie has financed more than 150 ships globally with market values in excess of US$ 2 billion.
[1] As of 15th February 2021