REG - Tribe Technology PLC - Term Facility secured with Beach Point Capital

Tribe TechnologyAnnouncement

25/10/2023 07:00

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RNS Number : 1597R  Tribe Technology PLC  25 October 2023

 

Prior to publication, the information contained within this announcement was
deemed by the Company to constitute inside information as stipulated under the
UK Market Abuse Regulation. With the publication of this announcement, this
information is now considered to be in the public domain.

 

25 October 2023

 

Tribe Technology PLC

("Tribe Tech", the "Company" or the "Group")

 

Term Facility secured with Beach Point Capital

 

Tribe Technology PLC (AIM: TRYB), a disruptive developer and manufacturer of
autonomous mining equipment, is pleased to announce that it has entered into a
£3.0 million secured term loan facility agreement with BPC UK Lending DAC
(the "Lender" or "Beach Point Capital") (together the "Facility").

 

Highlights

 

·    Injection of £3.0 million into the business to principally refinance
the Company's legacy debt arrangements and further progress its previously
outlined execution strategy.

·     Following drawdown of the Facility, the Company will have repaid
its entire £0.52 million existing debt facility with Growth Finance Fund LP
inclusive of accrued interest and fees.

·     The Facility is for a five-year term and bears interest at 13 per
cent. per annum.

·     There is a 12-month repayment holiday commencing on drawdown.

 

Background to and reasons for the Facility

 

As outlined in the Company's AIM admission document published on 30 August
2023, the Group has historically been funded through a combination of equity,
debt, grants, prepaid revenue on orders and subcontract manufacturing work
revenues, totalling a combined £9.9 million.

 

To date the Group has been successful in receiving firm commercial orders for
its first-generation Reverse Circulation ("RC") drill rig incorporating the
Tribe Technology Drilling System (the "TTDS GC 700"), which is currently in
production, amounting to over £10.5 million.

 

As part of the Group's admission to trading on AIM on 5 September 2023, the
Group successfully raised approximately £4.6 million (before expenses) (the
"Fundraise"). As set out in the Company's announcement on 5 September 2023,
the net proceeds of the Fundraise receivable by the Group will be used towards
(i) fulfilling the existing order book and increase the Group's level of
inventory, (ii) pursuing the Group's product and technology road map, and
(iii) expanding engineering, sales, and support staff.

 

Using the Group's status as a publicly quoted company the Group has
successfully negotiated the entry of the Facility on terms that are more
favourable than what would otherwise be available to the Group as a private
company. The Group intends to immediately drawdown the Facility and use the
monies to, amongst other matters, refinance the Group's legacy debt
arrangements. In addition, the Group intends to use any remaining funds,
subject to the Group maintaining a minimum cash balance of £1.0 million, to
further progress its previously outlined strategy. This includes bringing
forward the trials of the Group's sample system by undertaking concurrent
testing and pretesting prior to rig deployment.

 

Charlie King, Chief Executive Officer of Tribe Tech, commented:

 

"Following our recent successful admission to trading on AIM, a market
operated by the London Stock Exchange Group Plc, we are pleased to announce
the entry into the Facility which further strengthens the Group's financial
position at a time where the Group is at an important phase in the production
of its first drill rigs and sample systems.

 

"The focus now remains on completing construction of our very first drill rig
before the year end and converting our strong pipeline of interest into
further sales of Tribe Tech's revolutionary autonomous drill rigs."

Terms and conditions of the Facility

Tribe Technology PLC (as guarantor), Tribe Technology Group Ltd ("TTGL") (as
borrower and guarantor) and Tribe Technology Pty Limited ("Tribe Tech AUS")
(as guarantor) have entered into the Facility which is secured by a debenture
on all the assets of TTGL, a parent company guarantee from the Group which is
secured by a debenture on all of the assets of the Company, and a guarantee of
Tribe Tech AUS, which is secured against all the assets of Tribe Tech AUS.

 

Following drawdown of the entire Facility and the immediately subsequent
repayment of its existing facility with Growth Finance Fund LP, the Group
intends to repay its existing facility of AU$221,150 with Mitchell Asset
Management Pty Limited by 31 December 2023. The Facility is for a five-year
term which bears interest at 13 per cent, per annum payable monthly in arrears
commencing on drawdown. However, the Group is pleased to have negotiated a
12-month repayment holiday commencing on drawdown of the Facility. After this
12-month period, the Group is required to repay the Facility by making equal
monthly repayments of the principal each month. Interest is payable monthly in
arrears from drawdown of the Facility. The Facility contains standard
representations, warranties, covenants, indemnities and events of default for
a loan of its type. This includes three ordinary course financial covenants to
be tested during the term of the Facility: the cash covenant, the revenue
covenant and the EBITDA covenant. The cash covenant requires that cash held by
TTGL shall not fall below £1.0 million at any time. There are also ordinary
course fees payable to the lender, including an arrangement fee, a prepayment
fee and an exit fee ranging between 10% and 25% of the Facility. The earlier
the Facility is repaid, the lower the exit fee will be.

 

-END-

For further information, please visit www.tribetechgroup.com
(http://www.tribetechgroup.com) or contact:

 

 Tribe Technology PLC                                                  via Tavistock
 Charlie King, Chief Executive Officer

 Eric Hampel, Chief Financial Officer

 Allenby Capital Limited (Nominated Adviser and Broker)                +44 20 3328 5656
 John Depasquale / Vivek Bhardwaj / Lauren Wright (Corporate Finance)  info@allenbycapital.com

 Tony Quirke / Joscelin Pinnington (Sales & Corporate Broking)

 Tavistock (Financial PR)                                              +44 20 7920 3150
 Gareth Tredway / Rebecca Hislaire / Saskia Sizen                      tribetech@tavistock.co.uk

 

About Tribe Tech

 

Established in 2019, the Group was founded to create a safer, more efficient
work environment through the development of fully autonomous reverse
circulation drill rigs in the mining industry. The Group's core activities are
the development, in-house manufacturing, and sale of its autonomous RC Drill
Rigs incorporating its core proprietary intellectual property, the Tribe
Technology Drilling System ("TTDS").

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