Lucart Receives Over €101M Six-Year Green Maxi-Loan to Invest in Circular Economy

Less than a year after a similar but significantly less substantial transaction, Lucart, a company heading the Lucchese group of the same name that owns the Tenderly toilet paper and Tutto household paper brands, secured a six-year maxi loan of €101, 4 million with SACE Guarantee granted by a pool of institutions consisting of Unicredit (in the role of Global Coordinator and Intercreditor Agent), BNL BNP-Paribas, Banco BPM, BPER Banca, Crédit Agricole Italia, Intesa Sanpaolo-Divisione IMI Corporate & Investment Banking (all Joint Mandated Lead Arrangers with UniCredit) and MPS Capital Services.

Read more on the subject and find the latest business headlines with the Born2Invest mobile app.

As part of the transaction, the banks were assisted by Legance – Avvocati Associati

The transaction, which is divided into four loans, two of them Sustainability-Linked thanks to the introduction of sustainability targets agreed with the two Sustainability Coordinators, is intended to give continuity to investments in support of the circular economy and the adoption, in the production chain, of plants and machinery capable of reducing water and energy consumption. The objectives identified cover issues relevant to Lucart and its sector, including in light of the NRP, such as reducing water consumption and waste recovery.

The funding fits into the strategy of the Tuscan group, which for years has adopted a sustainable development model aimed at optimizing the use of raw materials and reducing waste by transforming it into new resources, in line with the principles of the circular economy. In fact, Lucart is the only paper mill in the tissue sector capable of recovering all components of beverage cartons: both the fibrous part, which is converted into paper products and the aluminum and polyethylene part, which is converted into other objects such as pallets for transporting goods.

At the end of January, Lucart had secured a €10 million loan from Intesa Sanpaolo, backed by SACE’s Green Guarantee, aimed at supporting the Group’s growth and development plan from an ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) and circular economy perspective. The credit line was characterized by a pricing mechanism linked to the achievement of precise sustainability targets including the completion of the production line in Castelnuovo di Garfagnana (Lucca) to increase the use of alternative packaging and greater recovery of Tetra Pak-type poly-coated food cartons at the Diecimo (Lucca) plant.

Andrea Fano, Lucart’s Chief Financial Officer, said, “Sustainability is the element that inspires our innovations and relationships with our Stakeholders. We are therefore happy to see how our path is followed and supported by the most important lending institutions in the country that appreciate our business model and our approach determined to optimize the use of raw materials and reduce waste by transforming it into new resources. The financing obtained is part of a path to strengthen the Group’s capital structure to finance the growth envisaged in our Strategic Plan.”

Andrea Burchi, head of UniCredit’s Central North area, added, “The loan to Lucart confirms our Group’s ability to ensure continuous support for the area’s manufacturing excellence. We work to help them reconcile business and sustainability issues, intercepting their needs and responding with specific solutions capable of accompanying their ESG investments.”

Richard Zatta, Head of Global Corporate of Intesa Sanpaolo’s IMI CIB Division, commented, “The Intesa Sanpaolo Group is at the forefront of supporting clients towards the transition to a low-emissions economy with specific financing plafonds and a wide range of investment products.”

Marco Mercurio, Head of Mid Corporate Centro Nord at SACE, concluded, “SACE and Lucart have built a solid and successful relationship over the years, so we continue to support the growth plans of this Tuscan excellence, which has always invested in innovation and sustainability.”

Lucart was founded in April 2013 as a result of the merger by incorporation of Fato Professional spa, Forest srl, and Airtissue srl into Cartiera Lucchese spa, which changed its name precisely to Lucart spa with the deed of merger. The group, headquartered in Porcari (Lucca) and with a turnover of €515 million in 2020, is controlled by the Pasquini family (through Pasfin spa), and employs more than 1,600 people in ten production plants spread across Italy, France, Spain, Hungary and Germany, processing about 400 thousand tons of paper per year.

In 2012 Lucart Group, which was then headed by Cartiera Lucchese, had taken over the Tenderly brand and production of toilet paper from the U.S.-based Georgia Pacific, which at the time had decided to leave Italy. In July 2016 Lucart had issued a €4.9 million minibond maturing in 2020 with a 5 percent coupon, which had been fully subscribed by Duemme Fondo per le Imprese managed by Duemme sgr and listed on the ExtraMot Pro of Borsa Italiana. The issue had been resolved in order to support growth projects through acquisitions.

A few weeks earlier, the group led by CEO Massimo Pasquini had announced the acquisition of Bokk Paper kft, Hungary’s leading independent company in the Away From Home (A.F.H.) market for hygiene paper products. Then, in March 2021, Lucart acquired 100 percent of Britain’s ESP Ltd (Essential Supply Products Ltd), the leading independent producer in Britain of tissue paper for non-home uses. It had been founder Carl Theakston who had sold. The company was later renamed Lucart Hygiene. Finally, in October last year, the group announced an €80 million investment plan in France for the three-year period 2022-2024, focusing on the French plant in Laval sur Vologne

__

(Featured image by WFranz via Pixabay)

DISCLAIMER: This article was written by a third party contributor and does not reflect the opinion of Born2Invest, its management, staff or its associates. Please review our disclaimer for more information.

This article may include forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements generally are identified by the words “believe,” “project,” “estimate,” “become,” “plan,” “will,” and similar expressions. These forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks as well as uncertainties, including those discussed in the following cautionary statements and elsewhere in this article and on this site. Although the Company may believe that its expectations are based on reasonable assumptions, the actual results that the Company may achieve may differ materially from any forward-looking statements, which reflect the opinions of the management of the Company only as of the date hereof. Additionally, please make sure to read these important disclosures.

First published in Be Beez, a third-party contributor translated and adapted the article from the original. In case of discrepancy, the original will prevail.

Although we made reasonable efforts to provide accurate translations, some parts may be incorrect. Born2Invest assumes no responsibility for errors, omissions or ambiguities in the translations provided on this website. Any person or entity relying on translated content does so at their own risk. Born2Invest is not responsible for losses caused by such reliance on the accuracy or reliability of translated information. If you wish to report an error or inaccuracy in the translation, we encourage you to contact us.