London, UK – Sullivan & Worcester (Sullivan) has recently advised the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) in relation to two innovative supply chain finance (SCF) transactions.

In the first transaction, Sullivan advised EBRD in its unfunded risk participation in Türkiye’s Akbank SCF program in favour of Sok, a leading retailer in Türkiye.

The programme makes it possible for over 100 suppliers – primarily small and medium-sized businesses that are mostly based in cities struck by the 2023 earthquakes that claimed over 55 thousand lives – to benefit from the SCF program for the first time, providing them with access to affordable working capital solutions. The deal is supported by the European Commission’s IPA II Fund.

The EBRD signing ceremony in Ankara for the launch of the Akbank deal was held in November 2024, attended by counsel Daniela Barrdear. It was also attended by Head of the Delegation of the European Union to Türkiye, Ambassador Thomas Hans Ossowski, President of the EBRD, Odile Renaud-Basso, Türkiye’s Minister of Industry and Technology, Mehmet Fatih Kacır and Akbank CEO, Kaan Gür.

In the second transaction, working together with Kinstellar, Sullivan advised EBRD, which partnered with Banca Transilvania, to enhance the SCF programme for Profi Rom Food, a leading retail chain operating in Romania.

The EBRD’s unfunded risk participation will help grow Profi’s existing SCF program for the benefit of its suppliers and marks the EBRD’s first SCF initiative in Romania aimed at strengthening a domestic value chain.

The Sullivan team advising EBRD is led by counsel Daniela Barrdear, with London partner Geoffrey Wynne.

For more information about the Akbank SCF program in favour of Sok, here, and for the Profi Rom Food SCF programme, please click here.