In September 2026 Merlin Entertainments announced new senior secured loans to refinance its 2027 senior notes, and no senior secured noteholder was asked to consent. This course shows how, from the documents.
THE STORY
On September 10, 2026 Merlin announced commitment documentation for about £657 million of new senior secured term loans to refinance its roughly £630 million (equivalent) senior notes due 2027, with completion expected by the end of 2026. As reported by Bloomberg, citing the company’s statement to creditors, the new loans rank alongside Merlin’s existing secured debt and also take security over the London Eye, SEA LIFE London, Shrek’s Adventure! London and the UK Dungeons. No senior secured noteholder was asked to consent. At the 2019 buyout the 2027 notes were, by design, the longest-dated instrument; three secured refinancings later they were the shortest, and every secured instrument had a springing maturity keyed to them.
LEARNING OUTCOMES
By the end you’ll be able to identify all four types of subordination, which Merlin shows at once:
Credit analysts, portfolio managers, lawyers and anyone holding or advising on senior secured or senior notes in European leveraged buyouts. Assumes working familiarity with high yield and leveraged loan documentation. The course opens with the timeline, so you need not have followed Merlin before.
Express format, about two hours: seven modules and a final assessment. Each module has a Clause Lab on the executed documents’ own words, a structure chart, a knowledge check and the questions to ask in your own analysis. A downloadable question list (PDF) ships with the course.
ACCESS
If you’re an FLT client, the course is open to you now, just use your login details for the new platform to access it. If we haven’t worked together yet, click on our course catalog for two weeks’ free access to the course.