More C-suite exits from Axsesstoday
Recently appointed Axsesstoday chief executive Joanna White has terminated her chief financial officer, Joe Flanagan.She has also announced that a previously announced equity capital raising is on hold.White joined the small business lender in January, taking over an ASX-listed company that had breached its debt covenants and was in the midst of changes to its capital structure and governance controls.Last year the company, which was launched in 2012, took steps to increase its funding base but it executed the process badly.In May, it set up a securitisation warehouse facility with A$200 million in senior bank funding provided by Macquarie and a total capacity of $285 million.In June, it launched a simple corporate bond offer, raising $55 million, with the proceeds to be used to support loan growth and repay existing borrowings.In August, it reported strong financial results, with EBITDA growth of 130 per cent to $26.3 million and net profit growth of 94 per cent to $7 million. The loan book increased by 100 per cent during the 2017/18 financial year and stood at $336 million at June 30.The financial report noted that "increased funding facilities from financiers reduced funding costs and provided an efficient funding structure." However, in November the company disclosed that it had breached covenants under its syndicated facility, subordinated note and Series 2 note agreements. The chief executive Peter Ferizis was terminated and the dividend payment was cancelled.It said it was working on a revised capital management plan, including raising equity capital, to ensure compliance with its debt facilities and it cut back origination volumes. The capital raising is now on hold.White has appointed Julia van Graas as interim CFO. Van Graas is a co-founder of Spiique, which "provides leadership support and interim leadership to organisations." She is a former Ernst & Young partner.