Historic midlands brewery secures support from Lloyds Bank

Independent Leicestershire-based family business Everards has successfully secured a £5m Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS) from Lloyds Bank.

Everards, which owns over 170 tenanted pubs across the Midlands and brews a range of ales, has faced unprecedented challenges due to the coronavirus outbreak and temporary closure of pubs across the country.

The impact of the lockdown and the uncertainty over the length of pub closures on the firm’s cash flow has been immediate. The business has seen a significant decrease in turnover since last month and has had to furlough more than 70% of its staff.

Lloyds Bank has helped Everards to navigate the government support available and arranged a £5m funding package using the CBILS, which provides funding for businesses that are experiencing lost or deferred income as a result of coronavirus.

Nigel Allen, finance director at Everards, said: “It goes without saying that we’ve been significantly impacted by Covid-19. This loan will allow Everards to help continue to support our 170 individual business owners and enable us to remain on the front foot for re-opening once lockdown is lifted and pubs can re-open.

“It’s very difficult to envisage what the new post Covid-19 world will look like for the hospitality and leisure sector and how quickly consumers will return to their local pub. For us, the CBILS loan from Lloyds Bank means that we can continue to support our business, working towards delivery of our long-term strategy.”

The loan has also enabled the business to continue with the development of its new state-of-the-art brewery, beer hall and office site at Everards Meadows in Enderby, Leicestershire. The building project, which was originally due to be completed this autumn, has now been delayed until 2021 as a result of the pandemic.

Chris Pennick, relationship manager at Lloyds Bank said: “We’ve been banking partner to Everards for more than a decade and know it to be a very well led, innovative and robust business, with ambitious future growth plans. But of course, pubs have been one of the industry’s worst hit by the coronavirus closures.

“We’re committed to supporting businesses like Everards as they navigate these challenging times.”