Speeches by Roca.

“Can I ask about the £3 billion loan from your Class A bondholders including Elliott Management and Silver Point? We have had a note from your Class B creditors—you will not be surprised to hear—who described it as a payday loan style arrangement. Can I ask Chris perhaps for your assessment of the loan and its potential…”

“Can we talk a bit about the time pressure? We have just talked about the five weeks’ liquidity. The Class B group said that the loan took advantage of the time pressure Thames is under. So was the urgency that drove the deal solely about liquidity?”

“Customers will find that extraordinary in view of that earlier amount.”

“But it would be up to £1 million for some executives, would it not?”

“So the reason you went with the A proposition is because you could not see an agreement. The difference between the two offers was quite substantial, was it not? The As offered an interest rate of 9.75% and the Bs offered an alternative at 8%, which would have potentially saved £375 million.”

“But that was not the assessment of everybody at Thames, was it? Because actually there were members of the board who thought the Bs’ offer was better. That was reported in the Financial Times.”

“And that was on the principle that that was a solid offer that you needed immediately, whereas the other offer—which was a lower interest rate—there was no certainty of it being accepted.”

“We are talking about alternatives. The High Court suggested you might have found better terms in the market from new funders. What is your assessment of that?”

“Again, the Class B creditors have suggested there are hidden terms and conditions in the terms that you agreed to in the end. Can you talk a little about what they might be referring to?”

“Was this at the point where you had five weeks left of liquidity that you were talking about earlier?”

“Does the deal include any financial retention incentives for executives at Thames?”

“Can you give us an idea of what those incentives might be?”

“What sort of size are these bonuses?”

“So very substantial bonuses.”

“A layperson looking at this would see that there was an offer from the A’s at 9.75% that came with financial incentives to retain people, and there was an offer from the B’s at a lower interest rate, and there might be some scepticism or a suggestion that one offer was gone with for other reasons. What would you say to…”

“The Class A offer involves an incentive scheme for executives that could be worth up to £1 million for yourself, I suggest, Chris. Is that correct?”

“But urgency will have worsened the conditions that you will have got from lenders, will it not?”

“The NFU made the point before Christmas that the publication of data is really important in this space to build confidence and understanding of what is being seized, where and in what numbers, so that people can build a picture.”

“Is your view that business and trade is ready for the implementation of these checks?”

“There has obviously been a lot of talk of a self‑regulation model in this area as well. Is this something that potentially the Department might consider, so an alternative approach for fresh produce, such as an authorised operator status and the use of control points?”