Pan-African law firm Bowmans recently advised Helios Credit Partners on a landmark transaction representing one of the first significant financings by a private credit fund in sub-Saharan Africa. The transaction was one of the largest debt financings secured by a Namibian company in the private sector.

The loan, of up to USD 40 million, was made available to Trustco Group Holdings Limited (JSE: TTO),  through funds advanced by Helios Investment Partners through its direct lending platform, Helios Credit Partners.

Trustco is a Namibian-based conglomerate with operations in the real estate, insurance, microfinance, retail, banking and education sectors. The loan will be used to capitalise the growth of Trustco’s Namibian property portfolio and provide credit solutions to growing enterprises that require hard currency and term funding, with a focus on structuring flexibility, speed of execution, and risk mitigation and management.

Jason Wilkinson, a partner in the Finance and Banking Practice at Bowmans, says:

“This is a growing market sector and these kinds of transactions are anticipated to increase significantly in the future. Our advice and management of this milestone transaction, in addition to our premier pan-African offering, places us at the forefront of firms able to advise on key debt private equity transactions going forward.”

The deal was concluded within a very short time frame and spanned several African jurisdictions, including the Cayman Islands, Mauritius, South Africa and Namibia.

The Bowmans team was led by Jason Wilkinson and extended across the firm’s Banking and Finance and Tax practice areas. The team included partner Wally Horak, and associates Michael Swartland, Jason Larkins and Ivan Vorster.

The Banking and Finance team were recently awarded Banking and Finance and Restructuring Team of the Year by African Legal Awards.