Baku, Azerbaijan, Jan. 31
By Nigar Guliyeva - Trend:
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) will allocate a €32 million loan to leading Turkish producer of dried fruit, nuts, seeds and popcorn, Peyman to expand its business, the EBRD said in a message.
The company, owned by Bridgepoint, a major international private equity fund, is building a new production facility in the industrial zone of Eskişehir, a city in north-western Turkey. The EBRD loan, with €10 million syndicated to FMO, the Dutch Development Bank, will finance the investment programme.
The Bank reported that new 59,000 m2 plant will become operational in the first half of 2018 and by 2023 it will have doubled the company’s production capacity to 45,000 tonnes. The plant’s modern layout and state-of-the-art equipment will help increase efficiency and save costs, freeing up resources for new products such as snack bars and popcorn.
The EBRD loan will also finance Peyman’s day-to-day operations such as buying fruit, nuts and seeds from local farmers, storing, processing, drying and packaging the produce.
As part of a new supplier-development programme, Peyman will start buying part of its raw materials directly from farmers. This will enable the company to secure sustainable, higher-quality products from local markets.
EBRD Managing Director for Turkey Arvid Tuerkner said that the loan will help strengthen rural communities and boost the economies of the country’s remote regions.
The EBRD is a major investor in the country. Since 2009, it has invested €10 billion in various sectors of the Turkish economy, with almost all investments in the private sector.
In 2017 alone, the EBRD invested €1.6 billion in 51 projects in Turkey. Almost a third of this financing was provided in Turkish lira.