London's ThinCats funds a big fat £2.4m loan to the Academy of Contemporary Music

The owner of Surrey-based Academy of Contemporary Music (ACM) has secured a major £2.4m loan from London’s ThinCats to expand the business further following a surge in student numbers.

ACM was founded in 1997 to provide higher education courses for students in the contemporary music and arts sector, and this has been done with considerable success - Ed Sheeran, Kate Nash and Newton Faulkner are amongst its former students.

Working alongside the debt advisory team at RSM, partner Damian Webb, commented: “We approached a number of funders as part of this process, but what really appealed to ACM was ThinCats’ strong understanding of the business.

“The ability to structure funding properly and speak to real people who can respond quickly was a real factor in choosing ThinCats ahead of other lenders.”

Alongside being the sole shareholder of the ACM, Kainne Clements is the owner of Europe’s Metropolis Studios.

The ACM offers students the opportunity to benefit from recording at Metropolis Studios - the likes of Queen, Michael Jackson, Amy Winehouse, Rihanna and U2 have recorded and mixed albums here.

Dave Sherrington, the head of business origination at ThinCats across London and the South East, said: “The level of information and understanding of both parties’ requirements allowed us to deliver a compelling solution.

“We are pleased to be supporting such an ambitious and successful entrepreneur as Kainne Clements and look forward to supporting his future plans for the business.”

Plans are now underway to secure a third site which will help ACM on their trajectory to doubling its student numbers.

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