London Southend Airport lender Carlyle demands faster loan repayment (updated)

Esken

23/01/2024 08:45

(Adds context on loan dispute)
       LONDON, Jan 23 (Reuters) - Esken  ESKN.L , the owner of
London Southend Airport, is facing demands by a Carlyle  CG.O 
fund to repay an outstanding convertible loan four years before
its maturity date, the group said on Tuesday.
    The demands are part of a legal dispute over a convertible
loan extended by Carlyle Global Infrastructure Fund in 2021.
Convertible loans are a form of debt that can be transformed
into a company's shares under certain conditions.
        Carlyle, which last year launched legal action over an
alleged breach to the convertible loan agreement, has now
requested payment of 193.75 million pounds ($246.88 million) by
Feb. 16, Esken said.
  
        Esken said an acceleration of the debt repayments would
be "value destructive" to all stakeholders and is focused on
finding a new owner for the airport.
  
        Representatives for Carlyle were not immediately
available for comment.
  

($1 = 0.7848 pounds)

 (Reporting by Pablo Mayo Cerqueiro; Editing by Kirsten Donovan
and Louise Heavens)
 ((Pablo.MayoCerqueiro@thomsonreuters.com;))