* Agrees new loan facilities worth 880 mln stg

* To raise 114.4 mln stg via placing, rights issue

* FY pretax loss 195.6 mln stg vs profit 79.49 mln yr-ago

* Says CEO Smith to remain in office until June 2010 * Shares rise 2 pct (Adds details)

July 10 (Reuters) - British van hire company Northgate Plc (NTG.L: Quote, Profile, Research) scrapped final dividend as it slipped to a full-year loss mainly on impairment charges and said it agreed on new lending facilities totaling 880 million pounds ($1.43 billion).

Northgate also plans to raise 114.4 million pounds through a placing and rights issue, the company, which rents light commercial vehicles and sells a range of fleet products to businesses, said.

"The speed and severity of the current economic downturn resulted in a sudden and prolonged period of reduced vehicle utilisation and a significant decline in the residual value of used vehicles, necessitating the impairment of assets," it said in a statement.

The company posted a pretax loss of 195.6 million pounds for the year ended April 30, compared with a profit of 79.5 million pounds a year earlier. Revenue rose 5 percent to 609.6 million pounds.

Exceptional items of 217.9 million pounds included impairment of goodwill and assets of 180.9 million pounds, the company said.