Arbuthnot Commercial ABL supports Inspirit Capital’s acquisition of BillerudKorsnäs Beetham Limited with a £15m facility

Arbuthnot Commercial Asset Based Lending has provided £15m of facilities both to support the financing of the day one consideration and to provide additional working capital. The total package includes a £7m invoice discounting line, a £4m revolving inventory facility and a £4m Recovery Loan Scheme (RLS) facility. In early 2021, Arbuthnot Commercial Asset Based Lending provided growth funding for another Inspirit Capital portfolio company, Procam Take 2.

Based at a mill site in Cumbria that has been producing paper since 1788 and now employs 130 people, the business produces sterile barrier papers for the packaging of medical devices and grease barrier papers for the quick service food products market as well as other types of industrial applications. The paper mill in Beetham has a capacity of around 45,000 tonnes per year, and in 2020 it generated revenue in excess of £40m.

To reflect its independence and strategic focus on the healthcare space, the new company has been rebranded as ‘Pelta Medical Papers’, with the word Pelta being ancient Greek for a lightweight shield.

Will Stamp, Founding Partner at Inspirit Capital, said:

"We are very pleased to be investing in this exciting business, which demonstrates Inspirit's capacity to undertake complex corporate carve-out transactions. With the new funding line from Arbuthnot Commercial Asset Based Lending and the rebrand completed, Pelta Medical Papers is ideally positioned to continue its expansion into the healthcare space, which we see as a robust sector and a long-term driver of growth.

As with our previous transaction for Procam Take 2, the team at Arbuthnot Commercial Asset Based Lending came up with the best proposition. They thought about what we were looking to achieve and structured the deal creatively to reflect the individual nuances of the transaction and the business. In this particular case, they demonstrated additional flexibility by taking a commercial view on the fluctuating prices of raw materials and tailored the transaction accordingly. Along with the ability to offer competitive pricing and high levels of availability, 'strength of relationship' is another important element that we consider when looking at a lending partner and the Arbuthnot team has been excellent to work with."

Andrew Rutherford, Commercial Director at Arbuthnot Commercial ABL, said:

“This is another exciting investment from Inspirit Capital, supporting Will and the team with a mix of acquisition finance and working capital funding to facilitate this transaction has been a pleasure. With Inspirit's support and with the additional headroom we have structured within this deal, Pelta Medical Papers now has the freedom and the opportunity to develop further in the medical sector and achieve its full potential as a successful independent business.”