Punch Taverns bondholders vote to waive covenants

The company said: “At the meetings held today, noteholders voted overwhelmingly in favour of the waiver requests. Eleven of the sixteen meetings were quorate (requiring instructions from at least 75% of noteholders eligible to vote) and the resolutions were passed. The five (four in Punch A and one in Punch B) remaining noteholder meetings were adjourned until 13 May 2014, at which a lower quorum of 25% of noteholders entitled to vote will apply.”

“We’re very much at the end game of restructuring,” Billingham told the Publican's Morning Advertiser​'s sister title M&C Report​ earlier this month. “That’s where we need to be.”

At the time, he expressed confidence that Punch’s covenant waiver requests will win the support required from all 16 debt tranches along with other stakeholders, and restructuring will be launched by the 30 June deadline set as a condition of the waiver.

“The senior creditors in the form of the ABI [Association of British Insurers] committee have come out in favour already of the [waiver] proposal; the juniors will come along as well. My view is it will go through, and at the same time that is happening, negotiations continue about a restructuring deal. Everyone wants to seal the deal. No one wants to see Punch end up insolvent, so a deal will get done.” Asked if he expects that a restructure will take place very near the 30 June deadline, Billingham said: “I’m sure it will be. Nothing we’ve got involved in with this has happened early!”