Highland Spring secures £50m funding to fuel £200m sales target

Highland Spring Group, leading UK producer of natural source waters, said it successfully completed a competitive process to refinance its business.

The company has announced that the Bank of Scotland and Barclays, as its funding banks, will provide support as it progresses towards its stated ambition of £200 million sales by 2030.

In 2023, the business grew its sales in the year by 15.5 per cent to £130.6m and the Highland Spring brand consolidated its position as the UK’s number one plain water brand for a seventh successive year.

The company said the financial backing, which includes term and revolving credit facilities of £50m, will further accelerate the evolution of the brand and business to meet the growing demands of retail partners and consumers for healthy, high-quality, British products.

“The Bank of Scotland and Barclays funding provides a springboard for us to further invest in our business to boost sustainable growth. This package reflects their confidence in our strong operational and market performance, talented team, and iconic brand,” John Young, finance director, Highland Spring Group, said.

“We are delighted to work with both organisations as we continue to scale up and bring our exceptional products to even more retailers and customers across the UK.”

Building on the strength of the Highland Spring brand continues to be the main priority of the business, with an emphasis on expanding the business’s portfolio of products and packaging formats. A recent successful launch into the 400 million litres flavoured water category, with a new Highland Spring Flavoured Still Water range was supported by a £10m investment at the group’s main site in Blackford, Perthshire which will provide circa 25 per cent of extra capacity.

The group’s dedicated rail freight facility in Blackford, Perthshire transports 40 per cent of the water supplied from the main bottling plant by rail, removing 8,000 HGV movements from the roads, and saving over 3,000 tonnes of CO2 every year. This landmark project supports the businesses decarbonisation roadmap which aims to reduce emissions across their entire operations from source to shelf.

“Highland Spring Group was the first major water brand to introduce a 100% recycled (cap and label excluded) and recyclable bottle in the UK in 2019 and it is clear that its drive to innovate, grow the business, and prioritise environmental sustainability remain its top priorities,” Simon Sweeney, director at Bank of Scotland, said.

“We’re pleased to support the business with this financing package as it progresses in its next chapter of delivering its ambitious growth plans, including initiatives which reduce carbon emissions across its operations.”

Jamie Grant, head of Barclays corporate banking in Scotland, said: “We are committed to supporting lending via our £22bn Barclays Business Prosperity Fund and so are very pleased to have been chosen as a banking partner for Highland Spring. We look forward to supporting their exciting plans going forward.”