Farsons, Eden rake in €30 million in no time

€30 million in bonds were taken up in a matter of a few minutes yesterday as investors queued outside banks, or left it to their brokers to invest in Simons Farsons Cisk plc and Eden Finance plc. In just under fifteen minutes from issue, Simonds Farsons Cisk announced that its offer of €15 million 2017-2020 6% unsecured bonds was closed due to over-subscription, while Eden Finance p.l.c. also announced that its €15 million 6.6% 2017-2020 bond issue had to be closed early because of over-subscription. Senior executives from both companies hailed investors trust in their companies, stressing that the response was a ‘certificate of confidence’ by the public.

Louis A Farrugia, Group Chief Executive of Simonds Farsons Cisk p.l.c. said: "The response of investors to this bond issue has been overwhelming and is a clear indicator of the support which Farsons continues to enjoy. It is also a signal of the confidence in our brands and our future prospects." As previously announced, proceeds from this bond issue shall be used to finance a bond exchange programme for Farsons' 6.6% Bonds 2010-2012, which shall be redeemed in November 2010, and also for the general financing requirements of the Farsons Group, as it takes the next steps in its strategic development programme. The bonds have a nominal value of €100 each and will be issued at par. They will be redeemed on 15th June 2020 or earlier, at the company's discretion, at any date after 15th June 2017. The company will shortly be announcing the allocation policy for these bonds, in line with the published prospectus.

Proceeds from the Simons Farsons Cisk plc bond issue shall be used to finance a bond exchange programme for Farsons' 6.6% Bonds 2010-2012, which shall be redeemed in November 2010, and also for the general financing requirements of the Farsons Group, as it takes the next steps in its strategic development programme.

Ian De Cesare, Chairman of Eden Finance p.l.c. stated that “the number of individual applicants has almost doubled from our initial list of holders of Eden Finance p.l.c. 2010 bonds signaling that the local public are keen to invest in a stable company with a clear track record in the hospitality and entertainment sectors . I would like to thank the general public, banks and the financial intermediaries for their strong support.”