GE Capital, Franchise Finance Provides Original Joe's with $15.3 Million Credit Facility for Expansion Projects

MONTREAL, Feb. 6, 2013 /CNW Telbec/ - GE Capital's Canadian Franchise Finance business announced today that it has provided Original Joe's Franchise Group Inc. (OJ's) with a $15.3 million senior secured credit facility. OJ's will use it to continue its expansion of the Original Joe's and State & Main restaurant concepts. GE Capital, Canada served as lead arranger on a senior credit facility with BMO Bank of Montreal and Laurentian Bank as participants.

Headquartered in Calgary, Alberta, OJ's is a full-service casual restaurant and bar with 55 locations, which are a mix of corporate-owned, joint venture and franchised units.

"Throughout our association with GE Capital, we've been impressed by their understanding of and commitment to the restaurant industry and especially to our own business," said Derek Doke, president and CEO of OJ's. "With this credit facility, GE Capital provides us with a solid financial foundation that allows us to concentrate our energies on expanding into new markets."

"We've been financing OJ's expansion projects for four years," said Edward Khediguian, senior vice president of GE Capital's Franchise Finance business in Canada. "We're pleased to continue to work with this leader in the Canadian restaurant industry."

About Original Joe's Franchise Group Inc.

Original Joe's Franchise Group Inc. (OJ's) is a full-service casual restaurant and bar that opened the doors of their first location in the community of Marda Loop in Calgary, Alberta in 1997. Today OJ's is considered one of the fastest growing casual dining restaurant brands in Canada with 55 locations. Many of Western Canada's major cities and towns are home to an OJ's, including: Vernon, Vancouver, Richmond, Calgary, Edmonton, Red Deer, Regina, Saskatoon and Winnipeg. State & Main is another OJ's restaurant concept. This casual, comfort food-focused kitchen and bar with a classic big city feel is expanding in western Canada and Ontario.

About GE Capital, Franchise Finance
GE Capital, Franchise Finance is a leading lender to the franchise finance market, serving the restaurant and hospitality industries. We specialize in financing regional and national restaurant businesses of all sizes across the country. Over the past 10 years, we've financed more than 700 restaurant customers with upwards of 1,500 property locations, lending more than $1.1 billion to the Canadian restaurant space. In the Canadian hotel market, we provide financing for nationally known brands in the limited and select-service segments of the industry.

With more than 20 offices throughout Canada, GE Capital (http://www.gecapital.ca) offers a wide variety of financial products and services to address commercial financing and fleet management needs in many phases of a business' lifecycle. From equipment finance to working capital and growth financing to large asset-based and restructuring loans, we apply our wealth of industry expertise to develop custom solutions for your company. Some of the industries in which we specialize include transportation, construction, manufacturing, aerospace, automotive, mining, energy, wholesale, retail, restaurant and hotel franchise financing.

GE (NYSE: GE) works on things that matter. The best people and the best technologies taking on the toughest challenges. Finding solutions in energy, health and home, transportation and finance. Building, powering, moving and curing the world. Not just imagining. Doing. GE works. For more information, visit the company's website at www.ge.com.

SOURCE: GE CAPITAL CANADA

GE Capital, Canada
Brigitte Dagnault
514-397-5323
514-346-1207 (mobile)
[email protected]