Office supplies company Vasanta, which has sales of £500 million, has completed a refinancing deal with the participation of turnaround investor Endless.

Office supplies company Vasanta, which has sales of £500 million, has completed a refinancing deal with the participation of turnaround investor Endless.

The deal sees Sheffield-based Vasanta receive £30 million of new investment, most of it from Endless. A syndicate of banks led by RBS and Bank of Ireland also took part in the transaction, which sees the company’s debt burden being ‘significantly reduced’.

Garry Wilson, managing partner of Endless, says Vasanta is a prime example of the double hit suffered by companies due to the credit crunch and the recession.

Wilson adds, ‘It is a well run, profitable business which was coping with the economic downturn but then credit insurers withdrew cover which immediately caused a cash outflow from the group of over £30 million.’

Steve Ellis, a partner at professional services firm PricewaterhouseCoopers, which advised the banking syndicate on the deal, says Vasanta’s balance sheet had become ‘over-leveraged’ when the credit market was at its height.

Accountancy group Deloitte advised Endless and Vasanta on the transaction.