TORONTO, Oct. 10, 2019 /CNW/ - Chesswood Group Limited ("Chesswood" or the "Company") (TSX: CHW) is pleased to announce the closing by its subsidiary Pawnee Leasing Corporation ("Pawnee") of its first marketed U.S. securitization for Pawnee's prime receivables. Proceeds from the U.S.$254 million securitization will be used to pay down Pawnee's recently renewed revolving warehouse line and to reduce the outstanding balance of Chesswood's recently renewed senior revolving credit facility.

"This is an important milestone in the growth of our U.S. business and the expansion and improvement of our treasury resources as our prime portfolio, the largest segment of our portfolio, continues its excellent growth." said Barry Shafran, Chesswood's President and CEO. "The securitization market has provided us with a significant improvement in our cost-of-funds on the securitized receivables, improving our finance margins on this segment of our portfolio by at least 100 basis points. As our portfolio approaches the $1.0 billion milestone, a better cost-of-funds is a key component in helping drive our future growth" added Shafran.

Early in the year, Chesswood announced the launch of Tandem Finance Inc. ("Tandem"), the Company's new U.S. equipment finance business. Tandem operates in the industry's largest market segment, the vendor channel. Serving equipment manufacturers, dealers and distributors and headquartered in Houston, Texas, Tandem is led by a team of industry veterans and is off to a quick start. From start-up to US$5.0 million in monthly originations in just seven months of operating, Tandem is on track to meet or exceed expectations for 2019 while setting the table for excellent growth in 2020.

"Tandem actually began operating in January and originated its first transaction late in February, after considerable build-out of its team and infrastructure, including our vendor portal" said Shafran. "Tandem can conduct all of its business digitally, including electronic documents, or more conventionally, depending on the preference of its vendor-clients and their customers" Shafran added.

Tandem is not only flexible and fast, but it offers the vendor channel a superior value proposition in being able to adjudicate and fund transactions in all credit tiers, from prime through "C" without selling non-prime transactions to other funders, as most competitors do in this market segment. "We have a truly unique and compelling offering and I am thrilled to be able to take our online capabilities and full credit suite to this large market." added Mike Sheehan, Tandem's President.

About Chesswood
Through three wholly-owned subsidiaries in the U.S. and Canada, Chesswood Group Limited is North America's only publicly-traded commercial equipment finance company focused on small and medium-sized businesses. Our Colorado-based Pawnee Leasing Corporation, founded in 1982, finances a highly diversified portfolio of commercial equipment leases and loans through relationships with over 600 independent brokers in the U.S. In Canada, Blue Chip Leasing Corporation has been originating and servicing commercial equipment leases and loans since 1996, and today operates through a nationwide network of more than 50 independent brokers. Located in Houston, Texas, Tandem Finance Inc. provides equipment financing to small and medium sized businesses in the U.S. through the equipment vendor channel. Based in Toronto, Canada, Chesswood's shares trade on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol CHW.

Learn more at: www.Chesswoodgroup.com www.PawneeLeasing.com www.BlueChipLeasing.com and www.TandemFinance.com

This press release contains forward-looking statements that involve a number of risks and uncertainties because they relate to events and depend on circumstances that will occur in the future. Many factors could cause actual results and developments to differ materially from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. By its nature, this information is subject to inherent risks and uncertainties that may be general or specific and which give rise to the possibility that expectations, forecasts, predictions, projections or conclusions will not prove to be accurate, that assumptions may not be correct and that objectives, strategic goals and priorities will not be achieved. Additional information about the risks and uncertainties of the Company's businesses and material factors or assumptions on which information contained in forward-looking statements is based is provided in its publicly filed documents, including the Company's annual information form and management's discussion and analysis of the financial condition and performance, which are available electronically through the System for Electronic Document Analysis and Retrieval at www.sedar.com.

NO STOCK EXCHANGE, SECURITIES COMMISSION OR OTHER REGULATORY AUTHORITY HAS APPROVED OR DISAPPROVED THE INFORMATION CONTAINED HEREIN. 

SOURCE Chesswood Group Limited

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