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Overview

Bank of China contributes to the debt rescheduling — via a one-year maturity extension — to a £250 million GBP revolving credit facility to Cranswick for refinancing purposes

Commitment Year•2022Country of Activity•United KingdomDirect Recipient Country of Incorporation•United KingdomSector•Action Relating To DebtFlow Type•Debt rescheduling

Status

Project lifecycle

Completion

Pipeline: PledgePipeline: CommitmentImplementationCompletion

Timeline

Key dates

Commitment date
Apr 1, 2022
Last repayment (originally scheduled)
Nov 1, 2026

Geospatial footprint

Map overview

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Stakeholders

Organizations involved in projects and activities supported by financial and in-kind transfers from Chinese government and state-owned entities

Funding agencies

State-owned Commercial Banks

  • Bank of China (BOC)

Cofinancing agencies

Private Sector

  • Coöperatieve Rabobank U.A. (Rabobank)
  • HSBC UK Bank plc
  • Lloyds Bank plc (formerly Lloyds TSB Bank PLC)

State-owned Banks

  • National Westminster Bank Plc (NatWest)

Receiving agencies

Private Sector

  • Cranswick plc

Guarantors

Private Sector

  • Cranswick plc

Loan desecription

Bank of China contributes to the debt rescheduling — via a one-year maturity extension — to a £250 million GBP revolving credit facility to Cranswick for refinancing purposes

Interest type•UnknownMaturity•5 years

Narrative

Full Description

Project narrative

On November 22, 2021, a syndicate of five banks — including the Bank of China (BOC) — entered into a £250 million GBP sustainability-linked revolving credit facility (RCF) agreement with Cranswick plc — a British food producer and supplier headquartered in Hull, England and listed on the London Stock Exchange — for refinancing purposes. This RCF carried a maturity period of four years with a one-year extension option, a final maturity date in November 2025, an interest rate based on the sterling overnight index (SONIA) plus an unspecified margin, a £20 million GBP committed overdraft facility and an option to increase the value of the RCF by a further £50 million GBP. The facility was unsecured and had arrangement fees of £1.8 million GBP being amortized over the period of the facility. The proceeds were used by the borrower to replace and refinance an existing £160 million GBP RCF and £40 million GBP of short-term bilateral loans. Cranswick issued a cross-guarantee for this RCF to the lenders. Record ID#99076 captures BOC's contribution. In addition to BOC, the following lenders contributed to the loan syndicate: Lloyds Bank plc, National Westminster Bank plc (NatWest), HSBC UK Bank plc, and Rabobank London. Lloyds Bank served as as agent and HSBC UK Bank plc served as sustainability coordinator. As of March 26, 2022, £38.0 million GBP of the RCF had been utilized. As of March 25, 2023, £42.0 million GBP of the RCF had been utilized. Between April 2022 and March 2023, the lenders extended the maturity period of this loan by 12 months — to a new maturity period of five years — to a new final maturity date of November 2026. Record ID#99077 captures this extension.