Eden Finance plc launches €15m 6.6 per cent bond issue

Eden Finance plc has announced it is to issue €15 million in 6.6 per cent unsecured bonds, guaranteed on a joint and several basis by Eden Leisure Group Ltd.

The bonds have a nominal value of €100 each and will be issued at par. The minimum amount of subscription is €1,000, followed by multiples of €100. They will be redeemed on June 15, 2020, or earlier, at the company's discretion, at any date after June 15, 2017. Proceeds from the bond issue will be used to re-finance the outstanding amount of the Eden Finance plc 6.7 per cent 2010 bonds. Any remaining proceeds will be used for general corporate funding.

Eden Finance plc has also applied to the Listing Authority for the bonds to be admitted to the Official List and to the Malta Stock Exchange.

Trading of these bonds is expected to start next month, the company said. Existing bondholders of Eden Finance plc 6.7 per cent 2010 bonds will be given preference to transfer their existing holdings to the new 6.6 per cent 2017-2020 bond until Thursday.

The offer will be open to the public from May 31, up to and including June 4. Subscription lists during the public offer period may be closed earlier in case of over-subscription.

Last week, Eden Leisure Group announced pre-tax profits of €4.1 million for 2009 on a turnover of €19.3 million.

Group managing director Ian De Cesare said the group's entertainment segment contributed over 50 per cent to the profit. The Eden Cinemas registered a significant increase in box office revenue and admissions, primarily due to successful film product in the last quarter of the year. The improvement continued for the first quarter this year with a 50 per cent profit increase year on year, he added.

The Eden Super Bowl and Eden Car Park also registered improvements and continued their positive upward trend in this year's first quarter.

Intercontinental Malta increased the number of guest nights over 2008 by 10 per cent. The group is forecasting a 50 per cent growth in profit from the hotel arm.

Confirmed conference business to date is showing an increase of over 400 per cent over last year, Mr De Cesare said.

He said that while the hotel was expected to show a significant improvement in the next two to three years to get back in line with the record figures of 2007, the entertainment segment was forecast to remain stable with steady growth in profits in the coming years.