CFO Luis Vega describes the problem:
“At Grupo Antolin, we needed more certainty in our business processes to allow us to plan ahead and allocate resources. This was difficult since the company was operating different relationships with a number of banks. Working capital management was sub-optimal as a result of the complexity of our banking relationships and the documentation involved. This meant we had a clear requirement to achieve greater financial transparency and to provide a stable source to manage our working capital needs.”
Photo of Javier Pellón, BBVA, Cristina Blanco from Grupo Antolin accepting on behalf of Luis Vega, Esperanza Del Rey and David Marques, RBS Madrid.
Luis Vega
Chief Financial Officer
Grupo Antolin, founded in Spain in 1950, is one of the major suppliers of interior components for the automotive industry and partner to the world’s largest car manufacturers; Grupo Antolin focuses its expertise in three core businesses: overhead systems, door function and seats.
The Group is present in 23 countries through 88 plants and 20 technical commercial offices with more than 11,700 employees. In 2010, the turnover came to €2,126m, a rise of 33% compared with the previous year.
Robust business model, diversification, technological leadership and a highly competitive team of professionals are what create the differentiating value of Grupo Antolin.
in partnership with
Grupo Antolin chose RBS to help them to maximise their revenue and profit through the most efficient processes possible. The company needed to unlock working capital and the bank offered solutions designed to manage the complete working capital cycle – the company considered that to be essential for them to generate growth.
The company’s multinational operations also required a solution provider with multi-regional presence. Grupo Antolin chose RBS because they considered it the choice of global transaction banking provider for companies that require trusted advisory relationships, cutting-edge technology and class-leading execution.
Meanwhile, BBVA led the structuring of this factoring programme. This facet of the solution will be the key for Grupo Antolin to improve transparency and provide stability to finance their working capital needs.
The success of a cash pooling solution in the Eurozone prompted them to take the next logical step and extend the solution to other currencies. The commitment of RBS to the continuous improvement of their solutions is demonstrated by the provision of a cash pooling structure across several European countries and the US, using multi-bank cash concentration (MBCC) and Partner Bank solutions.
Luis Vega comments, “Our involvement with RBS was supported by their specialist teams who liaised with representatives from Spain’s multi-national banking group BBVA to provide a tailored solution to fit our corporate needs. We entered into a factoring syndicated programme agreement with BBVA as the lead bank. With as many as ten banks involved, BBVA focused on the structuring of the deal and RBS on leading the liquidity management solution.”
The solution was formed through two different account structures – one for collection purposes and one for payment purposes.
Luis Vega concludes, “This solution has proven to be one of the most effective undertakings we have implemented.
As well as providing us with greater transparency, there are now considerable efficiencies in the management of working capital within our operations meaning we’re better equipped to operate more cost effectively. We are intent on asking RBS and BBVA to support the expansion of this solution across our organisation.”
This leading edge project demonstrates that relatively fragmented working capital funding can be substantially improved if you have the right liquidity management partner – in addition to the right financial advisors. It’s a good example of how a relatively small company can achieve global treasury best practice on a par with the largest multi-nationals and without high project risks and costs. We believe this is a success story that others will want to replicate to gain similar advantage.
