Altria Corpo obtains 50 million in financing for its clients up to June

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The wide variety of financial solutions obtained is the main feature in a year marked by the exit of the pandemic and the restriction of bank credit in a context of inflation and probable recession.

The financial consultancy Altria Corpo, which specialises in advising medium and large companies on financing, raised 50 million euros in financing for its clients in the first half of the year, with more than 30 transactions successfully advised.

In a context of great difficulty in accessing bank credit, the firm has obtained very varied and innovative financial solutions, both from the banks themselves and from alternative financing.

Some of the most significant operations have been the Sale&Lease-back of an industrial building for a company in the metal sector, for which the company obtained a liquidity of 2.8 million euros to undertake its business plan; a mortgage loan of 1. 2 million second-ranking mortgage loan on its facilities granted to an industrial company by a public financing institution; a loan of 5 million euros to a plastic packaging company granted by a debt or direct lending fund; the financing of the acquisition of an industrial company in a 50% leveraged operation thanks to the ICF; and the advisory and execution of a 7.2 million euros syndicated loan for an industrial company, with the participation of seven financial institutions.

Likewise, in a difficult context for many companies, after two years of reduced income due to the pandemic, Altria Corpo has advised some clients in the novation of Covid-19 loans with ICO guarantee, in the search for alternative financing to complement bank financing and reinforce the liquidity of companies, or in the processing of operations of the Fund for the Recovery of Companies affected by Covid-19 (FonRec) managed by Cofides. Of the latter FonRec operations, it is worth highlighting the financing by means of personal loans and equity loans for a total amount of 4,300,000 euros to an important catering group.

As Ramiro Lama, Altria Corpo’s partner and head of financing, points out, “it is in operations of more than one million euros and where companies have more difficulties in obtaining financing, where Altria Corpo can give more added value to the relationship with its clients. Altria’s in-depth knowledge of all the financial solutions available on the market and its ability to structure a proposal adapted to each need are the reasons why medium-sized companies find in Altria the right partner for their search for financing“.

The first half of 2022 also saw important milestones for Altria, such as the strong boost in activity in Madrid with the incorporation of Rubén Huertes and Fede Suárez, and the consolidation of the alliance with PKF Attest in areas that complement Altria Corpo’s offering, such as Corporate Finance, Debt Capital Markets, Technology and Legal and Tax Advisory, among others.

Altria is a Barcelona-based firm founded in 2014 by Albert Gumà. Its clients are medium and large companies, to which it offers its expertise in all types of debt and equity financing, and access to more than 170 financial providers including banks, alternative financing, public financing, debt funds and other instruments. In its almost ten years of existence, Altria Corpo has positioned itself as a benchmark in the search for financing for medium and large companies, with an accumulated amount advised of more than 350 million and more than 600 operations. The scope of the companies advised covers the whole of Spain, with a concentration in Catalonia, which represents 70% of the total volume advised.

How to finance with the new Productive Industrial Investment Support Fund (FAIIP)?

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One of the novelties for 2021 is the creation of the Productive Industrial Investment Support Fund (FAIIP), with an endowment of 600 million euros, aimed at providing returnable financial support to promote industrial investments. The management of the FAIIP has been entrusted to SEPI Desarrollo Empresarial, S.A., S.M.E. (SEPIDES).

Therefore, all Spanish companies that develop or will develop a productive industrial activity and industrial services, regardless of their size, may be beneficiaries of this fund. The projects must be located in the national territory, being eligible for funding, for applications submitted in 2021, both items that have been executed since 1 July 2020, as well as those that are executed up to 2 years after the date of formalisation of the financing of the FAIPP Fund. For new projects, not yet started, the start of their implementation must be foreseen within a maximum period of 12 months.

There are three financing formulas: ordinary loans, participating loans, temporary and minority equity participation, or mixed formulas between the above, with long-term operations (up to 10 years) and high grace periods (up to 3 years in ordinary and participating loans).

Interest rates will depend on the rating of the company and type of project, the type of financial operation, and the bonus that may be established for compliance with industrial impact criteria, within the following ranges: between 1 and 4.5% for ordinary loans; between 4 and 7.5% in equity loans; and between 4.5 and 8% in equity participation.

The eligible amount of each operation is up to 75% of the project’s bankable budget, with operations ranging from 200,000 euros to 60 million euros per year.

Altria Corpo has direct contact with SEPIDES and can help industrial companies in advising and processing the best financing solution, both under this new FAIIP, as well as in the multiple alternatives that exist from alternative financing.

How will Covid-19 public financing be renegotiated with the banks?

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Last May 2021, the Secretary of State for the Economy and Business Support approved the Code of Good Practice for the renegotiation of financing guaranteed by public entities (ICO, CESCE or CERSA) on the occasion of the Covid-19 crisis.

Thus, companies that received aid in the form of bank financing guaranteed by these public entities will have the possibility to apply for one of the 3 measures made available to them:

  1. Extension of ICO loans: for two more years, so that the maximum term for loans of less than €1.8 million will be 10 years, and for loans of more than €1.8 million it will be 8 years. This extension will be mandatory for banks in cases of a decrease in sales of more than 30% in the period 2020 compared to 2019, and only optional if the decrease in turnover is less.
  2. Conversion of the financing into a shareholder loan, with maintenance of the public guarantee: in this case, a decrease in turnover of more than 30% is mandatory and the company must also have recorded losses in 2020. The refinancing of the guaranteed debt will be binding for all banks, when more than 50% of the guaranteed nominal amount supports it.
  3. As a measure of last resort, the reduction (write-down) of the principal of the financing by means of transfers by the State.

All these modalities will be implemented in the framework of an agreement to renegotiate the debt of all banks, making their best effort to include both the secured and unsecured part, generated between 3/17/20 and 3/12/21.

One or more measures may be implemented at the same time or successively. In order to coordinate the whole process between the various financial institutions, it has been stipulated that the bank with the highest risk ICO will be the coordinator of all the banks, and the company must contact it. Tranches 1 and 2 must be communicated to ICO before 12/1/21, and tranche 3 before 12/1/22. Debt secured by collateral or guarantors is excluded from these coordination rules.

Another very important point to bear in mind is that, if any of these three modalities are used, the banks undertake to maintain the working capital lines until 12/31/22. And as far as the refinancing of the non-guaranteed debt is concerned, the unanimity of all the financial institutions will be necessary.

For more details on the eligibility criteria and how the whole process works, please contact us. At Altria Corpo we can handle all these procedures and negotiations with financial institutions, as well as look for all kinds of additional financing solutions from among the more than 100 alternative financing providers to which we can provide access.

Altria achieved 56 million euros in financing for its clients in 2019

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The financial consulting firm for companies continues its upward trajectory and is positioned as the reference in obtaining bank and alternative financing for the segment of medium and large companies

The financial consultancy firm Altria Corpo, which specialises in medium and large companies, obtained 56 million euros in financing for its clients in 2019, an increase of 10% over the previous year and a new record for the firm. The loyalty of the companies that repeatedly trust Altria as their partner in obtaining financing, as well as the increase in the client base thanks to the expansion of its number of managers and consultants, have made these results possible.

Among the relevant operations that Altria has advised on are a significant number of long-term loans, for amounts between 1 and 3 million euros, to undertake new investments in companies from the most varied sectors. The financial providers that have granted this type of operation are banks, public entities and direct lending funds. As Ramiro Lama, Altria’s partner and head of financing, points out, “in this type of operation, with a high amount and where it is more difficult for companies to obtain financing, is where Altria can give greater added value to the relationship with its customers. Altria’s knowledge of the financial needs of its clients and its ability to structure these needs among the diversity of alternatives that are emerging in the Spanish and international markets, are the reason why medium-sized companies find in Altria the right partner to seek financing”.

Altria’s current team in Barcelona

For Altria, 2019 has meant a significant investment with the incorporation of new professionals, the expansion of financial providers such as national and international funds, as well as the search for operational excellence and customer service. This lays the foundation for serving larger companies and continuing to offer our clients the best financing solutions for their needs.

One of the company’s milestones in 2019 is the opening of its Madrid office, which will certainly enable the number of clients and the volume of advice to continue to grow this year. Other lines of business that are gaining in importance are strategic and financial consultancy, through which Altria helps clients to improve their financial management and the economic profitability of the business; advisory services for the purchase and sale of companies and the obtaining of capital and new partners; and the intermediation of real estate operations (residential, commercial and industrial).

Altria is a firm founded in 2014 by Albert Gumà and based in Barcelona. Its clients are medium and large companies, to whom it offers its experience in all types of debt and equity financing, and access to more than 150 financial providers including banks, alternative financing, public financing, debt funds and other instruments. In its 6 years of existence, Altria Corpo has positioned itself as a reference in the search for financing for medium and large companies, with an accumulated amount of advice of more than 240 million and more than 400 operations. The scope of the companies advised covers the entire Spanish territory, with a concentration in Catalonia, which represents 80% of the total advised.