Staffordshire-based heavy transportation and lifting company Abnormal Load Engineering has secured funding for its international growth plans following an innovative £46 million refinancing.

The firm has secured the new debt facility from a ‘club’ of four Midlands banks and was advised by a team at PricewaterhouseCoopers in the Midlands.

The four-bank club arranged to provide the debt facility comprised Barclays Corporate, HSBC, Royal Bank of Scotland and Santander.

Abnormal Load is planning to use the finance to design and build bespoke specialist equipment, including the world’s largest land-based crane, to assist in the transportation of heavy-weight infrastructure and machinery across land and sea.

Mark Harries, the firm’s executive director, said: “This finance is good news for our business and will allow us to continue to strengthen our offering across a diverse range of markets.

“With a global network of operating centres we already own a large fleet of heavy cranes, specialist transport and installation equipment.

“By adding to this, we aim to continue to push the boundaries of what is possible and use our technical expertise to support some of the world’s most prestigious engineering projects.”

Sarah Taylor, corporate finance director at PricewaterhouseCoopers in the Midlands, said the new debt facility was innovative in the current market.

“This new debt facility puts the business on a firm financial footing, safe in the knowledge that it has secured the support of a group of local lenders to fund its growth plans for the next three years,” she said.

“Our Midlands-based debt advisory experts have helped the business to secure a market-leading corporate finance package.

“Backed by a mix of both asset and cash flow lending, the package incorporates multi-jurisdiction and multi-currency facilities to meet the company’s complex debt requirements.

“The successful completion of the deal confirms that banks are willing to think outside of their traditional lending products to lend support to well-run Midlands businesses.”

Speaking on behalf of the banks, Andrew McDonald at Barclays Corporate said: “This deal is a first of its kind for all the parties involved.

“In many ways this transaction highlights the current banking market, where banks are often working hard together as a club to ensure that the right results are delivered for the customer, maximising liquidity from traditional lending channels,” he said.

“This demonstrates the strength and scale of the Midlands market with local lenders and advisers working together in support of local businesses.

“Abnormal Load Engineering is a great example of a strong business with a first class management team and it was fantastic to see the Midlands banking community pulling together to support their future growth strategy.”

The Midlands club of banks was led by Andrew McDonald at Barclays Corporate, Steve Kemp at HSBC, Ashton Goymer-Brown at Royal Bank of Scotland and Nick Ashman at Santander.

Acting as legal advisers to the club of banks were Stephen Bottley and Sarah Day at DLA Piper and Matthew Heaton at Pinsent Masons advised the company.