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S upport services and construction group Interserve has secured additional short-term committed funding and has also reached an agreement to defer the test date for compliance with its loan covenants to the end of March this year. The development provides a platform for continued constructive discussions with the group's lenders, with a view to securing its longer-term funding. The additional facilities totalling £180M comprise a £38M committed revolving credit facility, £37M of committed ancillary facilities, committed bonding facilities of £93M plus £12M of additional funding available by agreement with the lenders. The facilities expire on March 30, 2018. Last year, the group issued its second proƒ t warning in as many months, saying there "is a realistic prospect" it may breach Interserve given short-term nding reprieve by lenders its ƒ nancial covenants. On October 16, its board was forced to issue a statement aˆ er media reports suggested that some of Interserve's banks had called in consultants following concerns over its ƒ nances. The statement conƒ rmed it was "in constructive and ongoing discussions with its lenders". Commenting on the new funding, Debbie White, Interserve's chief executive, said: "Securing these agreements puts Interserve on a ƒ rmer footing. Whilst there is still much to do, Interserve has signiƒ cant opportunities based upon a strong client base and our dedicated employees. There is considerable potential for business improvement across the group. These short-term committed borrowing facilities, together with the ongoing work to clearly deƒ ne the strategy and commercial structure for the business going forward, will bring further stability and clarity for our clients, our people and our shareholders." In order to obtain these facilities, Interserve has agreed to close out its cross-currency swaps, which hedge exchange rate exposure on existing US Private Placement loan notes. The proceeds generated by " Group now 'on rmer footing' as it works to de ne a clear strategy and commercial structure going forward. The National Tunnelling Day took place on December 7 to generate interest in the number of UK projects taking place. U nited Utilities' (UU) three wastewater treatment plants at Kendal, Morecambe (pictured) and Failsworth will be the ƒ rst to use the innovative Nereda technology within its portfolio. More sites have also been identiƒ ed to use the treatment process, which uses granular biomass to treat wastewater in a more sustainable and cost- eš ective way. Kendal WwTW will be the largest Nereda plant in the UK, using the new technology from October 2018, while installation of the new technology will form part of a £70M project upgrade at Morecambe WwTW and will be operational in April 2019. The compact nature of the Nereda plants, which typically requires a quarter of the land areas that is needed for an equivalent conventional activated sludge, is one of the important factors Failsworth is using Nerada technology in its upgrade. Happy National #TunnelDayUK. This one goes out to all you 'boring' legends! @ICELondonG_S #TunnelDayUK spread the word @metrotunneller It's National Tunnelling Day #TunnelDayUK! Did you know we've taken delivery of the rst of our six Tunnel Boring Machines to build the ThamesTidewayTunnel? @TidewayLondon WET News is registered at Stationers' Hall. Origination by Faversham House and TR Clash Ltd. Printed by Buxton Press, Palace Road, Buxton, Derbyshire, SK17 6AE. Copyright 2018. Faversham House. No part of this publication may be reproduced without prior written permission from the publishers. Every e— ort is made to ensure the accuracy of material published in WET News. However, Faversham House will not be liable for any inaccuracies. The views expressed by contributors are not necessarily those of the editor or publishers. The text and cover paper are manufactured from certi ed sustainable sources and are produced with reduced environmental impacts via a recognised and independently audited management scheme. Technical articles of full page, or more appearing in this journal are indexed by British Technical Index. Editor Maureen Gaines: maureengaines@fav-house.com Ad sales Lesley Evans: lesleyevans@fav-house.com Classifi ed sales Mark Scott: markscott@fav-house.com Production controller Sharon Miller: sharonmiller@fav-house.com Publisher Angela Himus: angelahimus@fav-house.com Published by Faversham House Ltd, Faversham House, Windsor Court, Wood Street, East Grinstead, West Sussex, RH19 1UZ Call: 01342 332000 1yr: UK £121 Overseas (airmail) £135/$196 2yr: UK £215 Overseas (airmail) £243/$353 Tel: 01342 332 2031 Email: subscriptions@fav-house.com Search WET News' archives for more jobs, news, features, products and services, events and training courses. wwtonline.co.uk WET News is a member of the Independent Press Standards Organisation (which regulates the UK's magazine and newspaper industry). We abide by the Editors' Code of Practice and are committed to upholding the highest standards of journalism. If you think that we have not met those standards and want to make a complaint, please contact the editor. If we are unable to resolve your complaint, or if you would like more information about IPSO or the Editors' Code, contact IPSO on 0300 123 2220 or visit www.ipso.co.uk Average circulation Jan-Dec 2016: 6,110 We've got tunnel vision. Celebrating National Tunnelling Day today #TunnelDayUK as work progresses on Shieldhall tunnel in Glasgow and other projects. @ScotWaterNews Happy National Tunnelling Day 2017! This is me sitting about 30m below the River Thames inside Amanda the TBM! #TunnelDayUK #BTSYM #Tunnels #tunnelling #london #UK @Nick_yMC closing out the swaps of approximately £44M will be used to repay existing borrowings from current bank facilities. Unwinding the accounting for the sterling value of the debt and the associated oš setting swap transactions will increase net debt by approximately£10M. In September, Interserve launched a group-wide performance improvement plan, Fit for Growth, aimed at improving cash and margin performance. As part of this plan, it initiated a series of work streams to address its operating model and the cost base of operations, as well as ensuring that it is operating in market segments which are both proƒ table and oš er opportunity for growth. JANUARY 2018 WET NEWS 3 Nereda picked for UU upgrades Need to know The cost of contract mobilisations and margin deterioration in its UK support services activities have contributed to Interserve's problems In the construction business, Interserve has seen further deterioration in operating pro t due to challenging market conditions and operational delivery issues With regards to its exited Energy from Waste business, Interserve said there has seen a slippage in the anticipated completion date for some of the deals

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