West Air

In November 2007, Proventus extended a junior loan to West Air, one of the largest dedicated freight airlines in Europe. The company had been growing profitably for more than 15 years, using only internally generated funds and bank financing. The Proventus loan enabled West Air to enter into a new geographical region and increase turnover by fifty per cent. The SEK 50 million loan also served to strengthen the balance sheet, enabling further expansion and reducing the financing costs for present and future senior debt. The down-side protection is provided by financial covenants.

Proventus has in the past few years moved to meet what we believe to be an important, unfilled need among mid-sized European companies that are in expansion or restructuring, but are unable to acquire bank financing and unwilling to dilute current ownership to fund such initiatives. In August 2009, Proventus laid the ground for Proventus Capital Partners, a co-investment vehicle through which Proventus invests its own and external funds in public corporate bonds, leveraged loans and private corporate loans to mid-sized companies in need for growth and restructuring capital. We see this as a major investment opportunity, targeting capital needs that cannot currently be financed because of restrictive loan policies of banks and others. We think there is a significant need for a more active market of this kind and aim to take part in developing it.