Dentons has advised OakNorth Bank (OakNorth), the UK bank that is democratising non-standard lending, on its £20 million leveraged term, capex and revolving credit facilities with Brasserie Bar Co Ltd (Brasserie Bar), the group behind restaurant and pub brands Brasserie Blanc and the White Brasserie Company.

Brasserie Bar, which currently has 35 sites under the Brasserie Blanc and the White Brasserie Company brands, is using the new facilities to pay down historic debt owed to ESO Capital and roll out a further 24 new sites over the next five years.  Brasserie Bar is owned by private equity firm, Core Capital.

Commenting on the deal, Banking and Finance partner Lee Federman said, “We are delighted to have advised OakNorth on these growth facilities which will fuel the ambitious expansion plans of Brasserie Bar.  OakNorth continues to be incredibly successful at providing non-standard lending solutions to small and mid-sized businesses and entrepreneurs, helping businesses grow during tough and uncertain economic times.”

Rishi Khosla, co-founder and CEO of OakNorth Bank, added, “Since our launch, we have been focused on one thing – solving the problem of scaling non-standard lending in the UK, backing quality management teams in the process.  It’s great that we were selected despite competition from several larger lenders, and we look forward to watching Brasserie Bar’s progress over the coming years.”

The Dentons team was led by Banking and Finance partner Lee Federman with transactional support from Banking and Finance associate Joe Byron Evans and trainee Lauren Alexiuk, and Real Estate associate Andrew McGrath in London.  Additional support was provided by Corporate and Banking and Finance partner Mathilde Lattard in Luxembourg.