£25m facility will help family-run group cut borrowing costs

Brian Higgins

Cheshire-based APS Group has secured a £25m facility to reduce group borrowing costs.

Family-run APS is a leading supplier of British tomatoes to the high street.

It manages 56 hectares of glasshouses and operates several packhouses across sites in Alderley Edge, Middlewich, Kent, West Sussex, Teesside, East Yorkshire and the Isle of Wight.

In December 2017 the firm, which employs 700 staff, clinched a funding deal with BGF aimed at furthering expansion plans.

It has now secured facilities of £25m with Shawbrook Bank, which will support APS Group in its continued growth.

APS was advised by Manchester-based Rickitt Mitchell & Partners in what was a competitive process with significant interest from several funders leading to a meaningful reduction in the group’s borrowing costs.

Shawbrook Bank emerged as the leading contender given its local presence, breadth of offer and ability to propose a flexible structure within a timeframe that matched the group’s requirements.

Simon Carrier, of Shawbrook Bank, said: “The deal team we assembled here at Shawbrook in Manchester spent a lot of time with APS to understand how their commitment to service, investment in growing facilities and approach to maximising crop yield have resulted in them becoming the UK’s largest tomato producer.

“Structuring the right facility, taking into account the seasonal nature of the business, was then key and I’m delighted that we’ve delivered exactly what we said we would – quickly.”

Shawbrook Bank was advised by Squires Patton Boggs, with due diligence support from FRP and property valuation support from the leisure and trade-related team of Savills (UK).

APS Group was advised by Rickitt Mitchell & Partners, led by partner Brian Higgins, and legal advice was provided by Knights.

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