WT Burden announces refinancing plans

Bristol-headquartered building-materials supplier WT Burden has been awarded a £55m working-capital facility by GE Capital as part of an £81m refinancing package.

Burden, the UK’s largest supplier of building materials to the infrastructure, environmental and industrial sectors, said it had achieved 15% sales growth during the past year and had doubled turnover in the past few years.

Chief executive Jeremy Burden said the agreement with GE Capital would give the firm “greater comfort and increased headroom” to achieve its targets.

“The challenge we faced was to find a financing partner who could understand our business model and provide us with sufficient working capital to maintain levels of growth,” he said.

Drew Johnson, a regional director at GE Capital, said Burdens had proved that growth and success were possible in a challenging economic environment.

“With its leading market position and strong track record, we are very happy to be able to support the company in its plans for further expansion,” he said.

WT Burden has a turnover of £350m and employs more than 1,100 people at 50 distribution depots across the UK, and also in Ireland, the Middle East, and Australia.