Paragon Bank provides £300,000 CBILS loan to Ammanford sash-window manufacturer
Paragon Bank has provided a £300,000 Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan (CBILS) to the UK’s largest provider of sliding sash windows, Victorian House Sales Ltd.
The loan has enabled Victorian House Sales Ltd to recover from cash flow issues, which arose from having to shut down all business for several weeks during the pandemic. The loan is being used to pay suppliers and support the re-opening of the factory, as well as meeting an influx in demand over the summer months. The funding was organised through asset finance broker Premier Asset Finance.
Victorian House Sales Ltd specialises in the manufacturing of sliding sash windows, which are manufactured from a 240,000 square foot production facility in Ammanford, Carmarthenshire. Established in 2005, the business employs 180 members of staff and supplies installers across the whole of the UK.
Due to the coronavirus pandemic, production was completely stopped at Victorian House Sales Ltd’s factory in March, which led to the furloughing of most employees for seven weeks. Business gradually resumed in May as the manufacturer was able to start fulfilling orders on its large manufacturing facility, where safe working protocols were adopted.
The business is now seeing a boost in orders thanks to built up demand during the lockdown period, as well as many homeowners investing more into home improvements than previous years.
In June 2020, Victorian House Sales Ltd enjoyed a record manufacturing and sales month with forward orders looking strong and the entire workforce returned to cope with the increased demand.
Scott Starkey, CEO of Victorian House Sales Ltd, said: “The Covid-19 pandemic had a significant impact on the window fitting industry and business ground to a halt at the end of March. This funding has helped us through an incredibly challenging period and has meant we can secure the future of the factory.
“It’s really positive to see such high levels of demand over the summer and we’re pleased that business is recovering so well. We do have to plan for all eventualities including the potential of a second wave, so this funding has provided peace of mind for us.”
John Phillipou, managing director of SME lending at Paragon, said: “We are pleased that we have been able to provide support to Victorian House Sales Ltd with finance that is tailored to the business’ needs and that has helped it navigate these unprecedented circumstances.”
Mark Ripley, managing director at Premier Asset Finance, said: “As a leading provider of asset finance products, we are in a strong position to support our customers through challenges presented by the pandemic by offering a broad range of funding solutions. It’s great to see Victorian House Sales Ltd prosper and we look forward to building on our relationship with the business in the future.”
