Moffatt & Nichol’s operational expertise played a key role in commercial and technical due diligence work relating to refinancing debt for a major port operator in the UK that handled in excess of 28 million tonnes of dry and liquid bulk cargoes, containers, trailers and general/project cargo per annum.
Moffatt & Nichol performed a detailed review of the company’s business, including its current and future strategy and assets, with a focus on the assets’ competitive position, cargo diversification and market resilience. The main drivers of demand for each of the segments were identified, together with associated risks and opportunities considering how each of the individual markets are traditionally served and how this could change in the future.
Moffatt & Nichol was able to ascertain that a significant proportion of its business was secured by long-term contacts and minimum volume guarantees together with sustainable income from property rental and conservancy revenue and that several major new projects in its immediate hinterland were also providing future opportunities for the company.
As part of the technical due diligence, Moffatt & Nichol undertook desktop research in order
to understand the operational parameters of each asset, focusing on entrance and berth downtimes. Based on these parameters, Moffatt & Nichol undertook capacity reviews to assess any constraints against the company’s business plan expectations.
Moffatt & Nichol also reviewed capital expenditure, assessing the management process for determining investment requirements, budgets and commercial justification. This also included a review of historical Capex. Both the commercial and technical due diligence process were supported by site visits and management Q&A sessions.
