Classic Prop Hire secures £2.5m funding from Santander
The Classic Prop Hire Company, a leading UK prop hire company for film, TV and events, based in Southall, London has secured £2.5m in new funding from Santander UK to support the company’s acquisition of ‘Seasons Textiles’.
Founded by Fiona Lowry (chairman) and Sara Wan (CEO) in 2018, the business benefits from an extensive stock collection, highly experienced staff and a strong diversified client base.
Given the importance of the business to the industry, the acquisition was part-funded by a range of professionals in the film industry.
Classic Prop Hire operates out of a 100k sq ft premises ideally located near to major film and TV studios e.g. Pinewood, Shepperton and Ealing. It has supplied costumes and props to several high-profile TV and film productions including Game of Thrones, The Crown and Killing Eve. To manage the large volume of props (80,000 items hired in 2019) the company has a bespoke IT system for monitoring utilisation, which also helps with pricing and buying decisions.
Season Textiles is the UK’s main supplier of fabric props – curtains, drapes and soft furnishings – for film and TV, and will move from its current location to a property adjacent to Classic. The acquisition will enable Classic’s customers to source fabrics and furniture in one place, creating a ‘one-stop shop’ for the TV and film prop hire industry.
Fiona Lowry, chairman, Classic Prop Hire said: “The funding from Santander has been invaluable to the success of the acquisition of Seasons Textiles as we look to continue to provide a valuable service to the TV and film industry. “
David Muse, director, growth capital, Santander Corporate & Commercial, said: “We are delighted that Santander is able to support Classic in this acquisition, which will be a game-changer for UK film and TV production companies. The new ‘one-stop shop’ will be the only company in the UK that can cater for such a wide variety of fabric and furniture props.”
The finance was provided by Santander’s structured finance growth capital team which support SME businesses with their growth plans.
