- Second debt deal for National Reconstruction Fund Corporation
- First investment in Value Add in Agriculture Priority Area
- Provides growth capital and supports introduction of new advanced manufacturing capabilities
- Supports regional jobs, including second largest employer in East Gippsland
The National Reconstruction Fund Corporation is backing regional jobs, advanced manufacturing and a new growth phase for an iconic Australian company by making an A$36 million debt investment in Australia’s leading meat pie manufacturer, Patties Food Group.
The investment will help Patties modernise production facilities and ensure household names like Four’n Twenty Pies continue to have a strong future in Australia.
Patties is the nation’s leading manufacturer of meat pies and party pies and also produces packaged foods across categories such as hot savoury, frozen savoury, frozen snacking, and frozen meals. The company produces popular food brands including Lean Cuisine, Leggo’s, and Home Chef, as well as Four’n Twenty, Herbert Adams, and National Pies.
“This transaction presents an opportunity for the NRFC to provide growth finance to assist one of Australia’s leading food manufacturers,” NRFC CEO David Gall said.
“Patties has an established market position, best-in-class manufacturing capability, and nationwide supply chain, as well as decades-long relationships with major Australian supermarket chains.”
Patties has eight manufacturing sites across Australia and New Zealand, with the largest being its facility in Bairnsdale, Victoria – the world’s largest pie-making factory.
“Part of the NRFC’s mandate is to support manufacturing and jobs but also to give consideration to regional development, when making investments,” Mr Gall said.
“Patties is an East Gippsland icon and is the second largest employer in the region, providing work and income to more than 400 employees and contractors. The Four’n Twenty pies made here have been feeding Australians for generations and we look forward to that being the case for generations to come.”
The investment represents the NRFC’s second debt deal. The NRFC’s enabling legislation and Investment Mandate specify that the NRF should invest in debt, equity and guarantees and debt deals are an important part of the NRFC’s investment strategy.
Media contact: media@nrf.gov.au
About the National Reconstruction Fund Corporation (NRFC)
The NRFC is Australia’s sovereign investor in manufacturing capability. It has $15 billion to invest through direct loans, equity investments and loan guarantees across seven priority areas: renewables and low emissions technologies; enabling capabilities; defence capability; transport; value-add in resources; value-add in agriculture, forestry and fisheries; and medical science.
The NRFC’s role is to invest in Australian businesses and projects that design, refine and make to transform capability, grow jobs and a skilled workforce, and diversify our economy. The NRFC is a corporate Commonwealth entity, established by the National Reconstruction Fund Corporation Act 2023 (NRFC Act) in September 2023.