Bakkavor refinancing measured on sustainability pledges

The new facilities replace the firm’s existing £410m loan and revolving credit facilities, which were due to mature in June 2021. The new agreement is set to mature in March 2024, with the option to extend by a further two years.

According to Bakkavor, the margin on the facilities is linked to two of the group’s corporate responsibility targets: its performance against food waste reduction and greenhouse gas emission targets.

The facilities have been provided by ten banks (including three new banks) and were co-ordinated by HSBC UK Bank and Rabobank London, both acting as joint bookrunners and joint mandated lead arrangers.

Supply chain transparency ​

Sustainability has increasingly become a key part of many businesses’ corporate responsibility pledges. This may be of no surprise to many, as more and more consumers call for those supplying their food to be more transparent on how it is produced.

This pursuit of provenance by the consumer has led a number of businesses to answer the call, with those operating in supply chain and logistics roles taking great steps to make it clear what their company’s impact on the environment is.

Online platform Fresh Range, for example, has achieved this through shorter supply chains, which not only shorten food miles​​ – with the bonus effect of reducing greenhouse gas emissions – but also force the chain to be more open through their lack of multiple moving parts.

Meanwhile, John Perry, managing director at logistics and supply chain specialist Scala, looks at how sustainability can be achieved in the supply chain.​​