Highland Spring has completed a major refinancing after securing a new £50 million package with HSBC.
The Blackford group, the UK’s number one natural sourced water brand, said it would use the new funding to support its five-year strategic plan for growth.
Group finance director Mark Steven, who joined the business from food producer Vion in August 2013, led the refinancing negotiations with new bankers HSBC. The complex package covers day-to-day operational banking but also includes asset-based lending and revolving credit facilities.
Accounts lodged at Companies House show the company achieved sales of £97.68m in the year to December 31 2013 an increase of almost £11m on the previous year and it reached a milestone in the spring after turnover in the rolling 12-month period passed the £100m mark.
The firm is also closing in on a target of producing more than 500 million litres of drinks annually and Mr Steven said the new funding package would allow the firm to boost its capacity still further.
“The £50m of funding has been arranged as a replacement to our existing facility,” Mr Steven said.
“It enables us to increase bottling capacity and upgrade equipment across the group and help us maintain our position as the number one bottled water brand.
“The bottled water market is in significant growth and we are looking to take advantage of that growth. This will help us across all of our sites.”
The group, established in 1979, has five bottling plants across the UK and in addition to its own brands it is also a major private label supplier to the country’s leading supermarkets.
It wants to grow market share within its traditional categories but also has strong ambitions to increase its presence in the flavoured water marketplace.
Chief executive Les Montgomery said the firm, which has grown its workforce from 420 at the end of 2013 to a headcount of almost 500, planned to increase bottling capacity by 50% at its Blackford site alone in the coming years.
He said: “The market for bottled water continues to grow thanks to consumers increasingly making healthier choices, and Highland Spring, with our five year strategic plan, is in a very good place to capitalise on this opportunity, with our new relationship with HSBC ensuring we can carry that out effectively.”
HSBC’s corporate banking team provided the finance package in a deal managed by relationship director Ross Keenan and Allan Ramsay, senior corporate business development director.
Doug Baikie, head of corporate banking in Scotland, said he was delighted HSBC were now working with the firm.
“Highland Spring is an iconic brand with a strong management team and a strategic plan that will provide the business with opportunities for growth and continued investment,” Mr Baikie said.
“We have a strong appetite to support the growth of mid-market Scottish businesses like Highland Spring, and are pleased to be part of this exciting period and help them take forward their growth plans.”