Group
We have been a partner to Vinci Construction France for more than four years. Tony Carron, Treasury Director, emphasises that a key benefit of this partnership is the flexibility we give back to their subsidiaries in the context of their day-to-day activities.
Strengthened by their collaboration with Atradius Surety, which started more than four years ago, the group initially needed to expand their sources of finance beyond their banking partners.
Tony Carron, Treasury Director at VCF, explains: "Atradius has been present on the surety market for many years, under the banner of various historical brands. After all, providing guarantees is the core business of an insurer. From 2006 onwards, tensions in financial markets were palpable, which prompted us to look for new funds beyond our banking partners to ease these tensions and provide the necessary flexibility for our subsidiaries."
As the leading private European company in surety, our role is to offer our customers a flexibility which best responds to the demands and specificities of their sector.
As Tony Carron relates: "Substantial flexibility, excellent responsiveness and a capacity for innovation are the essential elements of our relationship with Atradius."
"Their capacity to adapt to our needs, but also their considerable experience in this type of surety convinced us to put in place an agreement covering a large part of our subsidiaries, in a dematerialised technical framework. Even here, Atradius Surety has demonstrated excellent flexibility and professionalism, in order to offer the technical solutions which perfectly meet our expectations. This adaptability has been decisive in our partnership."
Atradius' surety bonds for building and public works contracts have enabled the Vinci Construction France group to benefit from the advantages linked to expanding their sources of finance beyond their banking partners: "Once our insurer allows us to issue guarantees without being linked to a counterparty, as is the case with our banks, that gives our subsidiaries flexibility in their day-to-day activities: without guarantees, there is no contract!", explains Tony Carron.
Moreover, this financial aspect linked to Atradius' technical flexibility has ensured that the collaboration is a winning partnership: "The development of this new partnership has enabled us to open up new possibilities for all of our subsidiaries; I would describe our relationship as excellent, to the extent that Atradius is a key partner in our business operation, standing shoulder to shoulder with our traditional partners."
Leaders in France in the Buildings and Public Works sector, Vinci Construction France provides expertise to communities and economic actors in their capacity as engineering contractors, combining the design, finance, construction and maintenance of building or development projects.
Its highly concentrated network of 473 profit centres ensures that it provides excellent coverage across the country.
Company: Vinci Construction
Trade sector: Construction
Market: France
Challenge: Extend the sources of finance beyond banking partners.
Results: Soliciting a credit insurer such as Atradius has made it possible to diversify Vinci's sources of finance, without affecting their credit and investment capacities with their bank.
How we made it happen: Technical flexibility, responsiveness, and a capacity to innovate in order to meet the specific needs of Vinci Construction France.