Fletchers Group Refinances to Maintain Growth
Fletchers Group of Bakeries has completed a £22 million refinancing package and renewal of its banking facilities as it aims for long term business growth. The group, which is a leading supplier of bakery and morning goods to the food service and retail markets in the UK, has partnered with ABN AMRO, which provides the £22 million banking facility for the next five years, representing a £4.5 million increase in availability against its previous banking provision.
With strong investment strategies and targeted new product development in conjunction with major retail and food service customers, Fletchers Group is aiming to use the facility to maintain its growth and plant development across its Sheffield, Manchester and London sites.
Paul Devlin
Group finance director Paul Devlin comments: “This is a significant step for the business, allowing us to further strengthen our balance sheet and pursue strategic options for the group for the foreseeable future. Over the last two years, Fletchers has invested more than £14 million in existing facilities and creating new capacity. We have also had to make some hard decisions to rationalise non-profitable parts of the business and facing these difficult challenges has strengthened the company substantially.”
He adds: “We look forward to the future, and the opportunities this brings for further development across our three current businesses and potential new investment opportunities, underpinned by the new banking facility.”
The past 12 months have seen significant changes at Fletchers Group as the management team has brought a number of key projects to fruition to create a platform for future growth.
In its latest filed accounts – for the year to 30 March 2013 – Fletchers Group’s management initiatives put in place helped profitability increase significantly, with the business posting pre-tax profit of £2.8 million on sales of £99.1 million for the period.
Recent developments include the closure of a loss making facility in Barnsley, but have also seen the company invest £7 million in a brand new production facility at its Sheffield operations, and a £4 million expansion of its food manufacturing facilities at Grain D’Or in London to increase production capacity by 40 per cent.
This growth has recently been added to with a further £1 million investment in a brand new cold-store facility in Manchester to double capacity and enhance environmental and technical efficiencies at its dedicated Kara Foodservice business unit.
