DMA Signs on track for most profitable year to date, following support from Secure Trust Bank
Leatherhead-based signage company DMA Signs Limited is set to close on its most profitable ever year, following successive revenue growth over the past five years.
The milestone marks a successful turnaround for the firm that began when it secured a £500k flexible facility from Secure Trust Bank Commercial Finance in 2015. Just a year later the signwriter went on to complete an MBO led by current director shareholders, Nicola Langston and Paul Lovelock, ahead of an uplift in the working capital facility to £1m to support business needs in the period of transition.
Since then the signage company has seen profits soar. Between June 2020 and May 2021 the organisation recorded revenues of c.£4.8m and record profitability. It is on track to surpass that figure this financial year. The improved trading performance of DMA Signs has enabled it to fully repay the facility provided by Secure Trust Bank.
The success of the past two years follows a period of streamlining, amidst the pandemic, as the business reduced its headcount and adjusted service lines to become a major provider of Covid signage throughout the pandemic. Elsewhere, it began outsourcing the metal fabrication stage of its manufacturing process to improve efficiencies.
The business boasts a roster of clients including the likes of The National Gallery, Royal Shakespeare Company and Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust. With a healthy pipeline, recent client wins for DMA Signs include new wayfinding signs for Whitby following a competitive pitching process.
Nicola Langston, owner and director at DMA Signs, said: “Since completing an MBO the business has undergone significant change. We’ve streamlined service lines, grown our client-base and now we’re more profitable than ever.
“I’ve no doubt that the support from Secure Trust Bank was fundamental to this. The level of care and interest the team took in the business – particularly in the early days – has been massive. The Bank’s flexibility, experience and transparent approach played a huge part in this journey and, if we ever required funding again, Mike and the STB CF team are the first people I would go to.”
Mike Piggott, head of portfolio – Midlands & South West at Secure Trust Bank Commercial Finance, said: “When we first began working together DMA Signs was going through a period of transition, but it benefitted from a passionate management team with a clear vision for the future. It simply needed a lender that would take the time to fully understand the business and unlock its clear potential.
“In the years that have followed DMA Signs has become a real success story and we are confident the business will continue to enjoy greater success in the coming years.”
