Leading seafood distributor eyes European expansion with £1m facility
Southern Aqua Seafood (SAQUA), a leading European frozen seafood importer based in Wiltshire, is set to continue to expand its business offering across Europe after receiving a £1m facility from Cynergy Business Finance.
Committed to supplying the finest quality seafood from a global network, SAQUA helps to bring a network of trusted fisheries to the European market and boasts an extensive product range, including yellowtail, Patagonian toothfish and Australian prawns. Its current customer book of leading retailers and restaurant groups includes Waitrose, Carrefour, The Ivy and Nobu.
Recognising the importance of true sustainability in the industry, SAQUA was founded on two decades of experience in seeking out the highest quality sustainable fisheries to provide ethically sourced products to its customers. It works collaboratively with a network of world-leading seafood producers, each rigorously independently verified to ensure they maintain sustainable practices and deep community partnerships.
Having experienced significant growth following Brexit and the coronavirus pandemic, Cynergy Business Finance provided SAQUA with a flexible £1m invoice discounting facility to provide it with the additional cash flow it needed to meet its growing order book. The facility will also enable the business to expand its global supplier base, consolidating its position as one of Europe’s leading seafood distributors and allowing the business to continue to grow its extensive product line.
Tessa Pollard, head of finance at Southern Aqua Seafoods, said: “With true sustainability being a core mission for SAQUA, the ever-growing consumer demand for sustainable products means that we’ve experienced strong growth over the past few years, providing top retailers and restaurant groups across Europe with the highest quality seafood from around the world. However, in order to fulfil this demand, it was essential that the business had strong cash flow.
“Working with the team at Cynergy has been seamless. The solution it developed was quick to set up, and has given SAQUA year-round access to dramatically higher financing at a far more cost effective rate than any other financing option we could find. I look forward to working closely with Paul and the rest of the Cynergy team to continue delivering on our growth strategy.”
Paul Fraser, executive director at Cynergy Business Finance, said: “It has been a pleasure to work with the SAQUA team. Sustainability is extremely important to Cynergy Business Finance and seeing SAQUA prioritise this within its business is fantastic.”
“We are proud to have supported SAQUA’s mission of delivering sustainable sea food across the world and look forward to continuing to work with the team and seeing their growth over the next few years.”
