A St Austell company is set to boost turnover by 40 per cent in 2009, after securing a sizeable loan from Lloyds TSB Commercial through the Enterprise Finance Guarantee (EFG) scheme.
Established in 2006, Fluid Branding is based at Brunel Business Park and supplies corporate gifts and promotional items, ranging from umbrellas to flash drives, to blue chip companies, SMEs, charities and local authorities.
Despite tough trading conditions, the firm’s market share is continuing to grow – and orders have increased by nearly 40 per cent over the past year.
After securing a loan from its business banking partner, Lloyds TSB Commercial, through the EFG scheme, the company is boosting capacity and improving efficiency by investing in a new IT system.
Management believes the investment could drive turnover from £1.8 million to £2.5 million this year.
Under the £1.3 billion EFG initiative, the Government guarantees lending to viable businesses to ensure that they can access the working capital and investment that they need and will support bank lending, of three months to 10 year maturity, to UK businesses with a turnover of up to £25 million.
Lloyds TSB is also providing asset based lending (ABL) facilities to Fluid Branding to help the firm maintain strong cash flow levels as it expands.
Lloyds TSB Commercial Finance, the bank’s specialist ABL division, is providing a tailored package that enables the company to release the value of its growing sales ledger existing assets and boost cash flow.
As part of its ongoing expansion, Fluid Branding has hired four new members of staff in the last 12 months, taking the total number of employees to 14, and is targeting a turnover of £5 million by 2012.
Matt Franks, director of Fluid Branding, said: “During a downturn businesses concentrate on making effective use of their marketing spend, and by securing funding from Lloyds TSB Commercial we have been able to capitalise on this opportunity.
“Lloyds TSB understood our ambitions from the start and has structured a lending solution that best suits our business.”
Ian Doocey, relationship manager for Lloyds TSB Commercial, said: “Fluid Branding is a great example of a business that is investing to ensure it is ready to meet rising order levels and continue to increase its market share.
“Lloyds TSB has made clear its commitment to make funding accessible to small businesses such as Fluid Branding, and we provide one in four EFG loans. We were one of the first banks to use the scheme and have been recognised by the Government as one of the most active banks in helping small firms get access to the funding.”
Roger Edwards, regional manager for Lloyds TSB Commercial Finance, said: “Over the past three years Fluid Branding has delivered innovative, quality products and high levels of customer service to its clients.
“We worked closely with management to devise a package that closely matches the exact requirements of the company, enabling the firm to continue to expand at a fast pace.”
June 2009