- The Company has refinanced its 2017 and 2018 maturities ahead of schedule, boosted its financial flexibility, increased its liquidity for the coming years and extended the average duration of its debt in almost two years

- Specifically, the Group has issued €285 million of senior secured notes due in 7 years, on more advantageous terms than those obtained on the notes issued in 2013, using the proceeds to settle its mid-term maturities and simplify its capital structure by repaying bank debt     

- In parallel, the Group raised a €250 million, 3-year syndicated revolving credit facility which can be extended for an additional two years, subject to refinancing of the Company's bond issue due in 2019 

- In line with the recent upgrades to the Company's corporate credit ratings, two of the leading credit agencies have assigned ratings to this new bonds issue that are two notches above their respective issuer ratings, primarily due to the quality of the assets pledged as collateral   

Hotel Group has successfully closed two financial transactions with the aim of endowing the Company with a more flexible maturity debt structure for the coming years.
 
After three years immersed in executing its business plan, under which the Company has segmented its hotel portfolio by brand, focused strategically on its establishments in the upper-upscale segment, invested €200 million to reposition its hotels and standardise quality for each brand, reinforced its management and organisational capabilities, and streamlined its portfolio by exiting non-core assets and renegotiating its lease agreements, NH Hotel Group has improved its positioning, currently boasting a higher revenue base, substantially higher EBITDA and a significant drop in its leverage ratio.     
 
Successful completion of the refinancing process
 
The Company has taken advantage of its improved business and financial performance and leveraging the current favourable market conditions, has accelerated its refinancing process through a bond issue and a long-term syndicated credit facility.
 
Specifically, the Group has issued €285 million of senior secured notes due in 2023, on more advantageous terms than those obtained on the notes issued in 2013: the 6.875% coupon carried by the 2013 notes has been cut to 3.75% on this issue. As a result, the Company has settled the borrowings due in 2017 and 2018 ahead of maturity, simplifying its capital structure by using the proceeds to repay bank debt.   
 
In parallel, under the umbrella of this same transaction, the Group has equipped itself with greater financial flexibility by raising a €250 million syndicated revolving loan; this three-year facility can be extended by a further two years subject to refinancing the bonds issued by the Company in 2013 and due 2019.
 
Credit rating upgrades
 
This momentum has also been evident in the corporate rating upgrades recently announced by the leading credit rating agencies. More specifically, Standard & Poor's assigned a B rating (with a stable outlook), reflecting this agency's view that the Group will further lift its business performance while continuing to control costs, liquidity, working capital and cost management. Meanwhile, Moody's has assigned the Company a corporate family rating of B2, thanks to the healthy progress being made on execution of its business plan, improved liquidity and a focus on asset-light operating formula. In line with these recent issuer rating upgrades, Standard & Poor's and Moody's have assigned ratings to the new issue that are two notches above their respective corporate ratings (Standard & Poor's: BB-; Moody's: Ba3), thanks to the quality of the assets pledged as collateral.  

About NH Hotel Group

NH Hotel Group (www.nh-hotels.com) is a world-leading urban hotel operator and a consolidated multinational player. It operates approximately 400 hotels and almost 60,000 rooms in 29 countries across Europe, the Americas, Africa and Asia, including top city destinations such as Amsterdam, Barcelona, Berlin, Bogota, Brussels, Buenos Aires, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, London, Madrid, Mexico City, Milan, Munich, New York, Rome and Vienna.