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Provost Frères

presented by October France

€1,100,000

5.85%

48 months

B

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location

Location

Sauzé-Vaussais, France

activity

Activity

Industry

Company

Created in 1962, the SAS Provost is active in the forest exploitation sector. The company, managed by Marc Héritier, has 50 employees and is based in Sauzé-Vaussais.

SAS Provost is the historical company of the Provost group witch carries out all activities related to wood treatment. The group’s main activity are:

  • The purchase of wood (France) and the import of exotic wood (South America and West Africa);
  • Sawing of wood;
  • Storage and drying;
  • The manufacture of glued laminates for joinery;
  • Window installation manufacturing.

The group works with about fifty clients in the carpentry and wood products processing sector.

With a surface area of 190,000 m², the group has a storage capacity of 19,000 m² and 3100 m² of storage space. The activities are carried out near the port of La Rochelle, the main log port in France.

The group, which generated €77 million in revenue in 2018, is made up of 4 operational structures: Provost Frères, La scierie de l’Atlantique , Atlanwood and Turchi, acquired in recent years.

Project

As part of its development, the group has an investment programme of €3.5 million for SAS Provost for the acquisition of various machines and the automation of a production line.

SAS Provost requests 1 100 000 € to finance refurbishment work for the installation of its new machines. This project will be realised in the next few months.

These investments will increase production capacity to meet growing demand.

As a reminder, the October lending community supported Scierie de l’Atlantique (another group company) in 2017 with 830 000 € to finance the investments required to open a second production site.

The amount offered on the platform is limited to 539.000€, which is in line with the regulatory limits.

Analyst

With a turnover of €35,938,000 in 2018 and an experienced team, the company has a good track record combined with an acceptable operating margin

In recent years, the increase in revenue has been driven by organic growth in the business. 44 million euros in revenue is expected to be generated on landing in 2019.

The high level of working capital requirements is linked to long production cycles ranging from 6 to 9 months. The company relies on a banking pool with short-term lines of 13 million euros to finance its working capital requirements.

The forecast is based on the 2020 budget, which forecasts growth in activity with a favourable situation on the French timber market and the disappearance of several competitors

The borrower has a good repayment capacity with a projected Fixed Charge Cover Ratio (FCCR) of 1.52 and a solid financial structure, with a projected net debt/EBITDA ratio of 3.5 and a net debt/equity ratio of 70%.

The analysis of the project leads to a credit rating of B and a 5,85% annual interest rate.

The multiple of FCCR at 1,52 means that the company has a safety margin of 52% relative to its ability to repay its credit maturities.

The expert opinion is given as an indication on the basis of the elements provided by the project holder and information from our databases (External data provider). This opinion is only an element of reflection in the decision making of a lender to participate in the financing of a project.

Strong points:

  • Good historical performance based on diversified client base.
  • Strong repayment ability with a forecasted FCCR of 1,52.
  • Historical company in a niche market.

Points of caution:

  • Regulatory evolution.