UK: Muntons is speeding up

Muntons, third largest malting group in the UK with a strong malt ingredients business, has expanded its credit line to £73 million (US$94 million) to repay older debts and to take up opportunities for growth. The biggest part of the loan will be used to replace an older £53 million (US$68m) credit facility from 2015. With the rest, the family owned malt maker plans to expand the facility at its headquarters in Stowmarket in Suffolk, and to build a new peating plant 25 miles down the road from its current facility at Bridlington in Yorkshire.

“The new peating plant will enthuse the malt with peat to give it a smoky flavour, enabling us to sell peated malt to whisky distillers for a smoky flavoured whisky. Some of our competitors are already doing this. We will move the malt through the peating plant and distribute it from there,” explained Andy Simpson, Muntons Group Finance Director.

Apparently a fire that occured in in the processing area for malt pellets and dispatch at Muntons’ Bridlington plant in November, had no financial impact on the firm. “It’s all covered by insurance, and there was no long term impact - the fire brigade came out quickly, thank goodness - but it has been disruptive in the short term,” said Andy Simpson.

Muntons had a turnover of £96.2 million in 2017 up from £89.3 a year earlier and employed over 250 staff in the UK with a further 70 staff internationally. The UK maltster teamed up with South Korean multinational electronics company LG Electronics to provide the raw material for its new capsule-based home brew system (inside.beer, 18.12.2018)

“The £73m facility […] offers Muntons improved liquidity, financial stability and a more predictable cash flow compared to other funding packages, enabling the business to set its sights on a larger-scale expansion. We can’t wait to see what the next five years and beyond will bring for this dynamic and fast-growing company,” said Jason Smithers, HSBC UK Area Director for Cambridge, Essex & Suffolk.

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