Towergate Wins Creditor Support for $1.5 Billion Restructuring

Towergate Finance plc said it has enough creditor support to restructure 1 billion pounds ($1.5 billion) of debt in U.K. courts.

The plan was agreed by more than 75 percent of the insurance broker’s secured and unsecured debt holders, the threshold required to proceed, the company said in a statement. The deal will reduce Towergate’s debt by 60 percent.

Towergate is seeking to reduce its debt burden after reporting a 24 percent decline in earnings last year to 110 million pounds. Fitch Ratings downgraded Towergate in December to two levels above default after the company said it had drawn all of its 85 million-pound revolving credit facility.

The restructuring will transfer ownership of the Maidstone, England-based company to its unsecured creditors, including Highbridge Capital Management, KKR & Co. and Sankaty Advisors, according to a previous statement.

The company’s 305 million pounds of 10.5 percent senior unsecured notes due February 2019 were little changed at 3 pence on the pound today, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Its 249 million pounds of 8.5 percent notes due February 2018 were quoted at 97.2 pence on the pound.