A MAJOR £77 million refinancing package negotiated by one of Selby’s biggest manufacturing employers has been welcomed by John Grogan, the town’s MP.

Animal feed manufacturer BOCM Pauls, which has one of its successful mills in Barlby, will use the facility to continue to invest in production and to expand.

The group, which employs 72 people in Barlby, among 1,000 employees at 20 mills across the UK, obtained the asset-based lending (ABL) package from Lloyds TSB Commercial Finance.

Mr Grogan said: “It is very good news that they have secured this funding and I hope that Selby is part of that.

“The mill is very much part of Selby’s manufacturing base and with the loss of Tate & Lyle, Rigid Paper and Clariant Chemicals, it is even more important that we manage to persuade BOCM Paul to maintain its long association with the Selby district.”

The £500 million turnover firm, which was established in 1992, produces more than two million tonnes of cattle, pig and poultry feed annually, for livestock breeders in the UK and Europe.

The refinancing package is secured against the value of BOCM Pauls’ sales ledger, property, plant and machinery.

A spokesman for the company said the Barlby mill, which was doing well, would benefit equally with other mills throughout the company.

The business, formed through a merger of BOCM Silcock and Pauls Agriculture, has continued to expand distribution of its animal feeds across the UK and aims to open up a new plant before the winter feeding season starts.

James Powell, finance director of BOCM Pauls, said: “This improved funding package gives us the facilities we need to support our growth strategy.

Describing BOCM Pauls as a “dynamic business”, Peter Anderson, business development director at Lloyds TSB Commercial Finance, said: “We are pleased to have committed to support the business over the next three years with an innovative financing solution that will enable it to continue to invest in its mills.”