St Austell Brewery agrees £40m refinance package

Rebecca Prescott28 Feb 2012

Cornwall-based St Austell Brewery Company (St Austell Brewery), one of the South West’s independent brewers has secured a new £40m bilateral funding facility from Royal Bank of Scotland Corporate & Institutional Banking (RBS CIB) and Barclays led by Stuart Allison and Colin James.

St Austell Brewery, which has an annual turnover of approaching £100m and employs 1,000 people, was founded in 1851 by Walter Hicks.

he company, which remains in private hands with numerous Walter Hicks' descendants involved as shareholders, employees and directors, is one of the longest established of only a few independent family brewers left in the UK.

The firm has grown both organically and via selective acquisitions, and will use the new banking facility to explore further growth opportunities.

The refinance package will also enable St Austell Brewery to invest in its existing estate and brewing facilities, while looking to develop new products to complement its award-winning portfolio of beers and ales. Its best selling ale Tribute is one of the fastest growing cask ale brands in the country.

Royal Bank of Scotland’s corporate banking team based in Bristol (UK) supplied a £10m term loan as well as a £12.5m revolving credit facility (RCF) while Barclays Bank provided a £12.5m RCF and working capital facilities totalling £5m.

Source: RBS