FDBusiness.com

Shawbrook Bank has provided a £26m multi-facility funding solution that enables Esterform Packaging Limited (EPL) – a leading supplier of PET preforms and containers for the beverage, food and household markets in the UK, to refinance its debt and increase manufacturing of preform containers to meet the growing demand in the food and beverage sector.

Combining a refinance and cashflow loan facility, the £26m funding package from Shawbrook enables EPL to exit its current funder agreement and increase manufacturing to meet demand in current climate and to continue to invest in recycled PET production.

Founded in Liverpool in 1999, EPL expanded its production facilities and relocated to Tenbury Wells in 2001. Continually growing through acquisition and organically, EPL set up its own purpose-built preform manufacturing site in Leeds in 2005 and, with additional funding, acquired 2 further packaging businesses by which time the group had become the UKs largest independent producer of PET bottles and containers.

EPL further expanded its portfolio with a new recycled PET (“rPET”) production site in 2019. With the ongoing expansion of the business and the impact of rPET in the industry, EPL wanted to exit its current funding agreements and refocus its investments to meet the increased demand in the beverage and food sector. The business approached the Midlands team at Shawbrook who understood this sector and created a bespoke asset-based facility that has delivered the quantum of funding and the flexibility required.

Mark Tyne, Managing Director at EPL says: “We have seen a substantial increase in demand for preform packaging, particularly in the beverage sector, and with established long-term relationships with key players in the industry, it is time for us to ramp up our manufacturing. Creation of our own rPET lines represents the start of a new journey and our next step is to consolidate existing debt to improve efficiencies and increase production. The team at Shawbrook took all this into consideration and created a bespoke solution that delivered the flexibility we need at this time.”

Kelly Henney, Senior Relationship Director at Shawbrook says:“EPL is a market leader in its sector and something of a pioneer both in terms of industrial efficiency and in its use of recycled plastics. At Shawbrook we know the sector well and, we saw the potential in this business and prepared a funding package that ensured EPL could meet its upcoming manufacturing targets as well as its long term plans.”