Slaughter and May advised The John Lewis Partnership on its new £420 million sustainability-linked revolving credit facility

Slaughter and May advised The John Lewis Partnership (“John Lewis”) on a new 5-year £420 million unsecured revolving credit facility which has been provided by seven of its relationship banks. This facility contains a margin ratchet based on John Lewis’ performance against certain environmental KPIs which reaffirms a desire and commitment for its financial strategy to align with sustainability goals. The environmental KPIs relate to a reduction in its carbon emissions so as to be net zero by 2035, a 50% reduction in food waste across Waitrose by 2030 (as compared to the 2018 figures) and a move away from fossil fuels across its transport fleet by 2030. This new facility replaces John Lewis’ previous revolving credit facility which was due to expire at the end of 2022.