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The Best Use of Receivables Finance award went to Spain’s Grupo Antolin Irausa for a €220 million, multi-country syndicated programme that stood out for its scale, complexity, innovation and impact. The solution satisfied every one of Antolin’s strategic asks. And at a time of rapid change for the automotive industry, it will strengthen the resilience and sustainability of Antolin, which supplies technological solutions for automotive interiors.
Transformation
Antolin’s syndicated receivables finance programme directly supports a three-year transformation plan, unveiled by the company in 2023. Its core aims include improving profitability, enhancing operational excellence and driving sustainability.
The plan included specific targets for Antolin to double its EBITDA to €600 million, to consistently deliver double-digit EBITDA margins and to reduce leverage, all by 2026. It also outlined planned OPEX investments of between €110 million and €120 million, and CAPEX of €50 million to €60 million, which would only be possible with access to additional liquidity.
To help Antolin hit these goals and gain consistent access to liquidity across its international operations in 11 countries, it needed a scalable and efficient solution that would maximise its working capital efficiency and streamline its existing factoring arrangements.
To improve the company’s financial flexibility, reduce capital consumption and raise the quality of its receivables assets, it was also important that the solution achieved off-balance-sheet treatment and incorporated credit insurance.
A syndicated solution
In response, BBVA structured a single €220 million multi-currency programme that monetises Antolin’s original equipment manufacturer (OEM) receivables across subsidiaries in 11 countries and 12 jurisdictions in Europe and the Americas through true-sale factoring.
It uses a non-recourse, synthetic syndicated structure that is governed by Spanish law, and enables cross-border factoring with centralised collections. Silent debtor notification means Antolin’s customers are not informed it has sold or assigned their invoices to a third-party finance provider. And a custom policy with Allianz Trade provides insurance coverage of up to 95%, which is a first for Antolin in terms of scope.
Efficient and impactful
Judges were impressed both by the programme’s operational efficiency and the financial impact it delivers. By unlocking liquidity and optimising Antolin’s accounts receivables in a flexible way that is aligned with its sales, the programme helps support the OPEX and CAPEX investment plans outlined in the company’s transformation plan. This strengthens Antolin’s position in a highly competitive market.
The synthetic securitisation structure enables significant capital relief and a risk-weighted rating uplift for Antolin. It silent factoring model helps preserve Antolin’s client relationships and operational independence. And by replacing the company’s former factoring arrangements with a single solution, the programme streamlines its working capital management.
With its generous insurance coverage, the programme also enables robust risk management for participating financial institutions.
The forward-looking programme has also been designed to help satisfy both Antolin’s and BBVA’s environment, social and governance (ESG) goals. From 2026, electric vehicle-related receivables will be integrated into it.
The programme also offers a scalable and replicable model that could benefit other industrial multinationals with complex global operations.
Collaboration and technical expertise
Judges also flagged the levels of technical expertise and coordination demonstrated by Antolin and BBVA in structuring and executing the programme. Stand-out accomplishments included achieving standardised data flows for ongoing receivables purchases and collections, conducting legal due diligence across 12 jurisdictions, and structuring a true-sale framework that was compliant with Spanish and international standards.
These required Finance and Treasury teams from Antolin to worked closely with Global Transaction Banking, Legal, Risk and Insurance teams at BBVA, which also engaged with Allianz Trade to secure insurance coverage.
“This groundbreaking syndicated receivables finance programme offers an inspiring example of how cleverly structured working capital finance can offer so much more than liquidity,” said Mike Hewitt, CEO of Working Capital Forum. “It not only positions Antolin to meet its financial objectives, but will support its sustainability ambitions and help the business thrive in a fast-changing market.”