Insider Media Limited

Leamington Spa-based Wolseley has secured revolving credit facilities totalling £820m. The deal comes just days after the heating and plumbing giant announced it was to sell two of its subsidiaries in a multimillion-pound disposal. The two credit facilities will be used for general corporate purposes, said Wolseley, and consist of European and US funding.

The deal comprises two five-and-a-quarter year provisions; a European facility of €750m (£654m) and a US facility of $270m (£165.7m). Each resource is on essentially the same commercial terms, said Wolseley.

They will replace existing committed bank facilities of approximately £1.6bn which were due to mature on or before August 2013.

Wolseley said the move to current market pricing will save the company about £12m each year. Unamortised arrangement fees of £7m will be written off this year as consequence of cancelling the surplus facilities.

Following the deal, the total committed resources available to the company stand at about £1.6bn. As at 30 April 2011, Wolseley's adjusted net debt was £824m.

The European Facility was co-ordinated by Barclays, Danske and Crédit Agricole and the US facility was jointly led by Bank of America Merrill Lynch and PNC.

John Martin, chief financial officer of Wolseley, said: "The innovative approach of completing loan agreements simultaneously in two jurisdictions enabled Wolseley's relationship banks to participate and allowed Wolseley to take advantage of attractive pricing.

"We are delighted with the strong support demonstrated by all our relationship banks. These facilities will support the group's growth plans for the foreseeable future. The high level of demand for the new facility is indicative of the quality of Wolseley's credit."

Last week, Wolseley announced it would sell its Build Center division as part of a £310m sell-off. The heating and plumbing specialist agreed a deal with Coventry-based Saint Gobain, through which its Build Center and Brossette businesses will be bought. Wolseley said the deals were the "last significant disposals planned" following last year's strategic review.

Earlier this year, Wolseley's Electric Center was also sold as part of the company's strategic review to concentrate on its core product offering.