Prepared fresh-produce firm Greenyard has announced that it has signed a lease-and-leaseback agreement with a property investor in Bree, Belgium, for its Greenyard Prepared facility.
The transaction generates around €90 million in proceeds, net of tax, in what the firm described as ‘a good momentum in the market’.
Closing Subject To Conditions
The closing of the transaction is subject to customary conditions, e.g. obtaining soil certificates and other formalities, Greenyard noted.
The €90 million in proceeds has no effect on the operations or functioning of Greenyard’s Prepared division.
The full amount of the net proceeds will be used to voluntarily refund bank debt.
Targeted Merger-And-Acquisition Activity
The Belgian-based firm, which reported a 1.2% increase in sales in the first nine months of its financial year, is now working on refinancing its debt on a longer maturity, to create additional room for investments in integrated customer relationships, as well as targeted merger-and-acquisition activity that will aim to cement Greenyard’s ‘financial stability for the future’.
In addition, Greenyard has reconfirmed its full-year guidance, despite the current global economic turmoil, with the business anticipating adjusted EBITDA of around €165 million and leverage below 2.5x net debt/adjusted EBITDA, in line with a previously communicated press release.
The model of collaboration with the different stakeholders in the supply chain emphasises the company’s ‘agility and strength in inflationary times’, it noted.
© 2022 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Nikita Naz Siddique. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.
