The transaction was one of the largest debt financings secured by a Namibian company in the private sector. The loan of up to $40 million was made available to Trustco Group Holdings Limited (JSE: TTO),  through funds advanced by Helios Investment Partners through its direct lending platform, Helios Credit Partners. The deal spanned several African jurisdictions, including the Cayman Islands, Mauritius, South Africa and Namibia.

Capitalise growth

Trustco is a Namibian-based conglomerate with operations in the real estate, insurance, microfinance, retail, banking and education sectors. The loan will be used to capitalise the growth of Trustco’s Namibian property portfolio and provide credit solutions to growing enterprises that require hard currency and term funding, with a focus on structuring flexibility, speed of execution, and risk mitigation and management.

Team

The Bowmans team was led by Jason Wilkinson and extended across the firm’s Banking and Finance and Tax practice areas. The team included partner Wally Horak, and associates Michael Swartland, Jason Larkins and Ivan Vorster.

Growing market sector

Mr Wilkinson, a partner in the Finance and Banking Practice at Bowmans, said: ‘This is a growing market sector and these kinds of transactions are anticipated to increase significantly in the future. Our advice and management of this milestone transaction, in addition to our premier pan-African offering, places us at the forefront of firms able to advise on key debt private equity transactions going forward.’