London – July 2008 – The Royal Bank of Scotland ("RBS"), alongside a number of banks, has announced its support for Dairy Crest, the UK's largest dairy foods company, in a £225million refinancing package.
A UK manufacturing success story, Dairy Crest has established itself as the UK's leading chilled dairy foods company. With a head office in Esher, Surrey, the company employs more than 8,500 employees across the UK, Ireland and France. In 2007, Dairy Crest acquired St Hubert with funding from RBS and extended its brand portfolio into mainland Europe. They now have a factory in Ludres and an office just outside Paris in Rungis.
Dairy Crest operates in two divisions - Foods and Dairies. The Foods division consists of spreads, cheese and fresh dairy products (via Yoplait Dairy Crest), while the Dairies division incorporates liquid products, household and ingredients. Key brands include Clover, Utterly Butterly, Country Life, St Hubert Omega 3, Cathedral City, Davidstow, Frijj, Petits Filous and Frubes.
Dairy Crest has agreed a new five-year revolving credit facility of £225million to refinance an existing facility. The funding package is being financed by a group of banks led by RBS, Rabobank, BNP Paribas and Lloyds TSB Bank. Lombard, the asset finance subsidiary of RBS, has also provided the company with funding for a new batch of replacement tractor units for its heavy commercial fleet.
Mark Allen, CEO of Dairy Crest, said:
"We have a highly motivated team, strong financial backing and the determination to continue the successful development of this business.
We are very grateful to RBS for the funding line put in place and for concluding this deal in a timely and professional manner – drawing on the
banking team's expertise and knowledge in the sector. We have worked with them for a number of years and are delighted that our successful
partnership will continue."
Roy Bawden, Relationship Director, Corporate Banking at RBS, commented:
"Dairy Crest has been a valued customer of RBS Group for many years now. We are delighted to support such a long-standing quality business
and highly regarded management team. One of the critical success factors in this deal from our side has been our ongoing strong working relationship
and knowledge of the business. Consequently, we have been able to structure our participation in a funding facility which fully met
management's needs and expectations, allowing them to drive the business forward."
Paul Buxton, Relationship Director, Lombard, added:
"Understanding how the company operates and how the asset finance can be of optimum benefit to them is an advantage when putting together the
funding package. The funding package provides tailored funding for their asset class, without impacting on their working capital requirements."
- Ends -
For more information, please contact:
Nina Diringer
Media Manager
Tel: 0207 427 9186 or 07769 956 851
Notes to Editors
The Royal Bank of Scotland Group
The RBS Group is one of the world's leading financial services companies providing a range of retail and corporate banking,
financial markets, consumer finance, insurance, and wealth management services. RBS Group operates in over 50 countries across
Europe, the Americas, Asia and the Middle East serving more than 40 million customers and employing more than 170,000 people.
In addition to the provision of a full range of banking services under The Royal Bank of Scotland and NatWest
brands, RBS Group also includes ABN AMRO, Citizens Financial Group, Ulster Bank, Coutts Group, Direct Line and Churchill.
