Smartcare Finance opens €11m secured bond to fund Sicily resort and repay hotel debt

Smartcare Finance plc has opened an €11 million secured bond issue carrying a 5.75% annual coupon, with the proceeds earmarked for a development in Sicily and the repayment of a Lombard Bank facility tied to its Segond Boutique Hotel.

The bonds have a nominal value of €100 and mature on 21 October 2036. The minimum subscription is €1,000, with additional subscriptions in multiples of €100. The issue follows approval of the prospectus by the Malta Financial Services Authority and is expected to be admitted to the Official List of the Malta Stock Exchange.

After expenses, the issue is expected to raise around €10.6 million. Of that, approximately €1.04 million will be allocated to Bella Sicilia Srl to partly fund the acquisition of the Laguna Project, including an adjoining agricultural property and related costs. A further €5.51 million will go towards the construction and development of that project.

Some €750,000 is earmarked for Segond Boutique Hotels Limited to repay an existing Lombard Bank facility. That loan had been used to cover cost overruns, improvements and pre-opening expenses for the Segond Boutique Hotel. The remaining €3.3 million will be used for the group's general corporate funding needs.

Smartcare Finance acts as the financing arm of a Maltese group active in elderly care, property development, construction, hospitality and food and beverage. The group's operations include Dar Pinto, a private elderly-care facility that provides a recurring income stream.

For local investors, the bond offers a 5.75% yield secured against group assets, but the use of proceeds highlights the group's reliance on overseas project execution and debt refinancing. The Sicily development and the hotel repayment represent two distinct risk profiles within the same instrument.

The listing on the MSE will provide a secondary market for the bonds, though investors should weigh the concentration risk in a single corporate group with diversified but capital-intensive operations.