News Release | January 28, 2020
Wells Fargo provides financing to Fortress for its acquisition of Majestic
Financing package to support UK’s leading specialist wine retailer
LONDON – January 28, 2020 – Wells Fargo Capital Finance (UK) Limited, part of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE: WFC), announced today that it provided acquisition and working capital financing to funds managed by affiliates of Fortress Investment Group LLC ("Fortress") for the take private of Majestic Wine Warehouses Ltd ("Majestic") – formerly part of Majestic Wine plc .
US investment firm Fortress recently completed a £95 million acquisition of Majestic1, a specialist leading UK wine retailer. Acting as the sole lender, Wells Fargo Capital Finance provided a four-year £55 million credit facility to the investment group to support the purchase. The loan also provides liquidity for the future strategic growth and working capital requirements of Majestic.
"Alongside our experience of more than 20 years in funding inventory across retail premises, we were able to create a customised funding solution that assisted Fortress's acquisition of Majestic," said Tom Weedall, head of UK originations, Wells Fargo. "The UK is the largest net importer of wine2 and we are looking forward to working alongside Fortress as they seek to grow Majestic's presence in this mature market."
Founded in 1980 and headquartered in Watford, UK, Majestic employs more than 1,000 staff.
About Wells Fargo Capital Finance
Wells Fargo Capital Finance, a unit of Wells Fargo Commercial Capital, provides comprehensive asset-based lending, supply chain finance, and technology finance to a wide spectrum of companies across the UK. With offices in London and Manchester, we bring a strong and proven track record of working with clients to develop their businesses. We deliver flexible financing options for companies facing a variety of situations, including: early and midstage turnarounds, growth, leveraged buyouts, refinancing, restructurings, mergers and acquisitions. As part of Wells Fargo & Company, a leading financial services provider with a longstanding reputation for strength and stability, we can also provide access to a wide range of products and services aimed at helping companies succeed.
About Wells Fargo
Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE: WFC) is a diversified, community-based financial services company with $1.9 trillion in assets. Wells Fargo's vision is to satisfy our customers' financial needs and help them succeed financially. Founded in 1852 and headquartered in San Francisco, Wells Fargo provides banking, investment and mortgage products and services, as well as consumer and commercial finance, through 7,400 locations, more than 13,000 ATMs, the internet (wellsfargo.com) and mobile banking, and has offices in 32 countries and territories to support customers who conduct business in the global economy. With approximately 260,000 team members, Wells Fargo serves one in three households in the United States. Wells Fargo & Company was ranked No. 29 on Fortune's 2019 rankings of America's largest corporations. News, insights and perspectives from Wells Fargo are also available at Wells Fargo Stories‡.
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Adaora Anunoby
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1. Insider.co.uk: Majestic stores to stay open as Fortress completes £95m takeover
2. According to https://worldmapper.org/maps/wine-export/
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