Saudi Arabia’s ACCL Arabian Centres is close to completing a SR4bn ($1.08bn) loan facility with a group of local banks.

The deal has a seven-year tenor and is a refinancing of an existing facility that was put in place around two years ago. That facility paid banks around 175 basis points above the Saudi interbank offered rate (Sibor).

Pricing on the new deal is understood to be close to being agreed, but is expected to be significantly above the previous loan. The deal is expected to involve a club of around six lenders and is denominated in riyals. Bankers close to the company say the new facility could be completed in the second quarter of 2010.

“The company is looking at continuing to build out its mall operations so was seeking a chance to refinance this facility in a way that deferred repayment so it had more free cash in the shorter term,” says one banker in Riyadh.