Hill Dickinson advises JLM Global Foods on £7.5m finance deal to enable scale-up

Commercial law firm Hill Dickinson has advised North East snack maker JLM Global Foods on a £7.5 million refinancing deal designed to accelerate the firm’s expansion plans.

The multi-asset facility from specialist asset-based lender Leumi ABL consists of invoice finance, plant and machinery finance, inventory finance and a term loan, with a limit of £4.37 million. It complements a cash injection of £1 million by directors of JLM Global Foods to support the company’s growth.

It will enable JLM to increase its manufacturing capacity, research and development capabilities and serve more customers globally.

Darlington-based JLM Global Foods makes a range of ‘Better for You’ private label snacks for major brands, as well as own-label savoury snacks that are exported across the world.

Hill Dickinson’s Matt Noon, head of Liverpool Corporate, led on the provision of legal advice to JLM Global Foods, supported by Rebecca Layton (Legal Director, Banking), Alex McCann (Partner, Real Estate) and Jonathan Lynch (Associate, Real Estate).

Commenting on the success of the deal, Matt Noon said: “JLM Global Foods is an independently owned UK business that has succeeded in establishing itself in the global market in the 20 years since the company began operating. Significant outside investment at this point in the company’s growth cycle gives the business the resource it needs to hopefully scale up on all fronts.

“We were delighted to be able to assist JLM on this key refinancing exercise and look forward to seeing the impact the additional finance can have from a growth perspective.”

Mark Thompson of JLM Global Foods said: “Matt, Becca and the team provided a seamless service and were a key part of enabling us to get the refinancing deal across the line and for us to look forward and further grow the business. They were great to deal with and really commercial and practical.”