Towergate Gets U.K. Court Nod for Plan to Restructure $1.49 Billion Debt

Towergate Finance plc said it won court approval for its plan to restructure 1 billion pounds ($1.49 billion) of debt.

The restructuring will be completed by early April, the U.K. insurance broker said in a statement Friday. The company previously reached an agreement with more than 75 percent of its secured and unsecured debt holders, the threshold required for the London court’s scheme-of-arrangement process.

The deal will transfer ownership of the Maidstone, England-based broker to its lenders, including Highbridge Capital Management, KKR & Co. and Sankaty Advisors and reduce Towergate’s debt by 60 percent, according to previous statements. It’s seeking to cut debt after reporting a 24 percent decline in earnings last year to 110 million pounds.

The company’s 305 million pounds of 10.5 percent senior unsecured notes due February 2019 were little changed at 2.2 pence on the pound, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The bonds were quoted at 106.5 pence a year ago.