Zabka Polska S.A.

Overview
Project Summary Document
Environmental and Social Documentation
Procurement
Complaints

Overview

The EBRD equity investment of EUR 25 million supported the acquisition of Zabka Polska S.A. ("Zabka"), the leading modern convenience retailer in Poland, by CVC Capital Partners, one of the leading private equity groups globally, from its previous owner Mid Europa Partners.

Project ID 48542

Status Signed

Location

Poland

Business Sector

Food and Agribusiness

Notice Type

Private

Project timeline

Exploratory
Passed Concept Review
Passed Structure Review
Passed Final Review
Board Approved
Signed
Implementing
Completed

Company Contact Information

Krzysztof Krawczyk
kkrawczyk@cvc.com
http://www.cvc.com/

Project ID 48542

Status Signed

Location

Poland

Business Sector

Food and Agribusiness

Notice Type

Private

Environmental Category

Approval Date

04 May 2017

Disclosure date

01 Jun 2017

As permitted by paragraph 2.6 of Section III of the Access to Information Policy, disclosure of this PSD was deferred in accordance with paragraph 1.4.4 of the Directive on Access to Information.

Zabka Polska S.A. (Polish) (PDF, 0.64MB)

Project description

Project objectives

By becoming a shareholder in Zabka, which through its franchise model works closely with and supports small business owners and entrepreneurship on a large scale, the Bank will encourage private entrepreneurship and help address issues of insufficient access to financing by small businesses and start-ups. The EBRD will support future value creation, in particular in the areas of green energy / environmentally friendly investments.

Transition impact

ETI Score:60

transition impact of the Project stems from support to private entrepreneurship and setting standards in corporate governance with franchisees, as well as setting standards in resource efficiency and "green innovation", through proposed Green Economy Transition ("GET") investments and other initiatives.

Client information

HEKET HOLDING SARL

Zabka is the 6th largest food retailer and leading modern convenience chain in Poland with 4,600 franchise stores operated by 3,200 entrepreneurs.

EBRD Finance Summary

EUR 25,000,000.00

EUR 25 million equity investment alongside funds managed by CVC Capital Partners.

Total project cost

EUR 1,055,000,000.00

N/A

Environmental & Social Summary

The Project has been categorised B in accordance with the 2014 Environmental and Social Policy. The environmental and social impacts related to the operation and construction of retail stores and distribution centers are readily identified and can be addressed through appropriate mitigation and management procedures. Environmental and social due diligence was undertaken by ESD based on the review of the third party consultant's report covering the environmental and social performance of the company's operations and on the Corporate level discussions with Management representatives conducted by ESD.

Based on the third party review and company's representation, the ESDD confirmed that the company operates its business in line with relevant environmental permits, occupational health and safety and labor legislation. The company has a comprehensive Integrated Management System (IMS), which includes a Quality Policy and Good Manufacturing and Good Distribution Practices (covering quality, food safety and HACCP) along with environmental management policies and operational standards for the sites. The company is certified to the externally recognized standard ISO 22000 for distribution and product development. The retail stores are covered by HACCP procedures, and are regularly audited by the company for generic HACCP and store standards with a separate audit team covering the food safety audits since 2016. It is noted that due to the franchise model, best practice food and energy efficiency procedures are implemented by the retail store operators under incentives, not as a compliance model. The company is committed to implementation of an environmental management system (EMS) in line with ISO 14001 standards and has already developed relevant policies. The current team responsible for the IMS is capable of the implementation of the Project in line with EBRD Performance Requirements. The company systematically works on reducing food waste and packaging waste. There is a dedicated H&S Department responsible for the supervision of any changes in legal regulations and the associated implementation of updated procedures and internal regulations; undertaking audits and assessing internal controls, plus supervision and consulting support regarding H&S to the internal H&S Committee; and evaluation and/or modification of worker-related risk for all types of work performed across the company's operations. The company's H&S performance is good. The company is considering implementation of the OHSAS 18001 compliant H&S management system.

The company has a comprehensive system for management of internal labor relations and HR. The company has assessed their risks related to supply chain and includes relevant standards in regards to quality, food safety, environmental and labour requirements in their contracts. For the products from outside EU the company requires internationally recognized certifications (Rainforest Alliance) or company conducted relevant audits. The company has recently formed an internal CSR team focused on the support local communities, responsible sale of food and alcohol, support of entrepreneurship, environmental protection.

An ESAP has been developed to formalize the company's commitment to implementation of environmental, H&S management and energy management systems, CSR reporting, formalization of internal HR processes, and strengthened procedures in relation to monitoring of franchisees and provision of additional training. The company will report annually to EBRD on environmental and social performance and will be monitored by the Bank if required.

Technical Cooperation and Grant Financing

The Bank is considering supporting Zabka in advanced energy efficiency technologies and various other green innovation initiatives.

Company Contact Information

Krzysztof Krawczyk
kkrawczyk@cvc.com
http://www.cvc.com/

Implementation summary

The EBRD equity investment of EUR 25m made in 2017 supported the acquisition of Zabka Polska S.A. ("Zabka"), the leading modern convenience retailer in Poland, by CVC Capital Partners, one of the leading private equity groups globally, from its previous owner Mid Europa Partners. The Project supports a future value creation, in particular in the areas of green energy/environmentally friendly investments.

Zabka is the 7th largest food retailer and the leading modern convenience chain in Poland. The Investment helped the Company grow its store network from ~4,500 to ~6,800 to date and increase partnership to ~5,375 franchisees from the original ~3,000 small business owners. In October 2020, Zabka completed the remodelling of all of its stores. The change had a positive impact on brand positioning, sales efficiency and an increase in the number of customers.

The transition impact of the Project stems from support to private entrepreneurship and setting standards in corporate governance with franchisees, as well as setting standards in resource efficiency and "green innovation", through proposed Green Economy Transition ("GET") investments and other initiatives.

Zabka continues to focus on sustainability and energy efficiency areas. The Company implemented various solutions across its store network to reduce energy and fuel consumption. Zabka launched a mobile app for franchisees to strengthen partnerships and introduced initiatives to improve waste management. The Company provides ESD reporting.

PSD last updated

01 Feb 2021

Understanding transition

Further information regarding the EBRD’s approach to measuring transition impact is available here.

Business opportunities

For business opportunities or procurement, contact the client company.

For business opportunities with the EBRD (not related to procurement) contact:

Tel: +44 20 7338 7168
Email: projectenquiries@ebrd.com

For state-sector projects, visit EBRD Procurement:

Tel: +44 20 7338 6794
Email: procurement@ebrd.com

General enquiries

Specific enquiries can be made using the EBRD Enquiries form.

Environmental and Social Policy (ESP)

The ESP and its associated Environmental and Social Requirements (ESRs) set out the ways in which the EBRD implements its commitment to promoting “environmentally sound and sustainable development”. The ESP and the ESRs include specific provisions for clients to comply with the applicable requirements of national laws on public information and consultation, and to establish a grievance mechanism to receive and facilitate resolution of stakeholders’ concerns and grievances, in particular, about the environmental and social (E&S) performance of the client and the project. Proportionate to the nature and scale of a project’s environmental and social risks and impacts, the EBRD also requires its clients to disclose information, as appropriate, about the risks and impacts of projects or to undertake meaningful consultation with stakeholders and consider and respond to their feedback.

More information on the EBRD’s practices in this regard is set out in the ESP.

Integrity and compliance

The EBRD's Office of the Chief Compliance Officer (OCCO) promotes good governance and ensures that the highest standards of integrity are applied to all of the Bank's activities in accordance with international best practice. Integrity due diligence is conducted on all Bank clients to ensure that projects do not present unacceptable integrity or reputational risks to the Bank. The EBRD believes that identifying and resolving issues in the project assessment and approval stages is the most effective means of ensuring the integrity of Bank transactions. OCCO plays a key role in these protective efforts andhelps to monitor integrity risks in projects post-investment.

OCCO is further responsible for investigating allegations of fraud, corruption and misconduct in EBRD-financed projects. Anyone, either within or outside the Bank, who suspects fraud or corruption should submit a written report to the Chief Compliance Officer by email to compliance@ebrd.com. OCCO will follow-up all matters reported. It will review all matters reported. Reports can be made in any language of the Bank or of the Bank's countries of operation. The information provided must be made in good faith.

Access to Information Policy (AIP)

The AIP, which entered into force on 1 January 2025, sets out how the EBRD discloses information and consults with its stakeholders to promote better awareness and understanding of its strategies, policies and operations. Please visit the Access to Information Policy page to find out what information is available from the EBRD website.

Specific requests for information can be made using the EBRD enquiries form.

Independent Project Accountability Mechanism (IPAM)

If efforts to address environmental, social or public disclosure concerns with the Client or the Bank are unsuccessful (for example, through the client’s project-level grievance mechanism or through direct engagement with Bank management), individuals and organisations may seek to address their concerns through the EBRD’s Independent Project Accountability Mechanism (IPAM).

IPAM independently reviews project issues that are believed to have caused (or to be likely to cause) harm. The purpose of the mechanism is: to support dialogue between project stakeholders to resolve environmental, social and public disclosure issues; to determine whether the Bank has complied with its Environmental and Social Policy or the project-specific provisions of its Access to Information Policy; and where applicable, to address any existing non-compliance with these policies, while preventing future non-compliance by the Bank.

Please visit the Independent Project Accountability Mechanism webpage to find out more about IPAM and its mandate and how to submit a Request for review. Alternatively, contact IPAM by email at ipam@ebrd.com for guidance and more information on IPAM and how to submit a request.

Environmental and Social Documentation is not available for this project.

Selected procurement notices related to this project may be shown below. Further procurement opportunities related to this and other projects, if available, maybe be viewed in the EBRD Procurement Portal.

The EBRD's Environmental and Social Policy (ESP), Access to Information policy (AIP) and Project Accountability Policy (PAP) enable sound and sustainable development in its projects. The Independent Project Accountability Mechanism (IPAM) deals with complaints about environmental, social and disclosure matters related to the Bank’s investments.

No complaints about this project have been made so far.

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Zabka Polska S.A.

Overview

Project timeline

Company Contact Information

Project description

Project objectives

Transition impact

Client information

EBRD Finance Summary

Total project cost

Environmental & Social Summary

Technical Cooperation and Grant Financing

Company Contact Information

Implementation summary

PSD last updated

Understanding transition

Business opportunities

General enquiries

Environmental and Social Policy (ESP)

Integrity and compliance

Access to Information Policy (AIP)

Independent Project Accountability Mechanism (IPAM)