Halmann Vella Group plc on Wednesday announced a new €23 million secured bond issue, pending approval from the Malta Financial Services Authority (MFSA).

The 2031 – 2034 bond issue will be listed and traded on the official list of the Malta Stock Exchange.

This follows an announcement in the group’s financial statements for 2023 that stated that the €30 million five per cent secured bonds, issued back in 2014, are due to be redeemed on 6th November 2024. These bonds are set to be refinanced through a combination of bank financing and recourse to the capital markets, one means being the new secured bond issue.

In the market update, Halmann Vella Group stated that once approved, the bonds shall be made available for subscription by holders of the maturing bonds through an exchange offer, pursuant to which holders of the maturing bonds will have the option to surrender the bonds held by them at a pre-determined record date in favour of the company for cancellation. In exchange, they will receive the equivalent number in the form of new secured bonds.

The group stated that the remaining €7 million due to holders of maturing bonds on redemption shall be funded through bank financing “which has already been secured.”

Any new secured bonds not subscribed for by holders of maturing bonds shall be made available for subscription through an intermediaries’ offer.

Halmann Vella Group added that full details on the secured bond issue will be provided in a prospectus that will become available once the MFSA approves the issue.

Halmann Vella Group is a business that primarily operates as a manufacturer of stone, marble and granite, as well as terrazzo and pre-cast elements. It also owns and leases a number of commercial properties, while also being involved in property development and resale.

During 2023, the group registered €25.1 million in revenue, 5.2 per cent more than it did in the previous year (2022: €23.8 million). However, a decrease in change in fair value of investment properties, together with a rise in finance costs, prompted pre-tax profit to amount to €3.5 million, marginally lower than that of 2022 (€3.6 million). In the report, Chairman Martin Vella described 2023 as another year marked by a “challenging economic landscape in Malta,” yet he affirmed that the group still “navigated through these headwinds with perseverance.”