Dignity, the U.K.'s second-largest funeral services provider and the biggest private cremation provider, plans to refinance ia whole business securitized completed in 2003.
Standard & Poor’s has assigned preliminary ratings to £581.3 million of securities to be issued under the refinancing. The class A notes, worth £234.8 million and due 2034, will be rated A’; and the class B notes worth £346.5 million and due 2049 will be rated BBB’.
The deal is a whole business securitization that is backed by the future cash flows generated by the borrower, Dignity, which operates in funeral services, crematoria and pre-arranged funeral plans.
As of the latest investor report, for the 52-week period ended June 2014, there are 698 funeral locations within the securitization group and 39 crematoria. The securitization group has also the benefit of revenues derived from 332,000 pre-arranged funeral plans.
According to the presale report, the existing notes were first issued in April 2003, followed by three subsequent taps in February 2006, September 2010, and July 2013.
