Pub group remains at the heart of communities with bank support
A local independent pub group has secured a £250,000 loan through the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS) from Lloyds Bank to help it to support its staff and suppliers during the COVID-19 lockdown.
Regency Corporation runs a number of local pubs along the Sussex Coast, including the Crown & Anchor in Shoreham. The business turned to Lloyds Bank to help secure its future, after its pubs were forced to shut amid the COVID-19 lockdown.
Due to the closure of its sites the company, which was started ten years ago, has had to furlough its 150-strong team of employees.
Regency Corporation has seen significant growth, specifically during 2019, when it successfully doubled its turnover and added a number of new sites to its portfolio. Its pubs are typically located in small towns and each pub is run independently and tailored to the local community it resides within.
The loan from Lloyds Bank will boost cashflow, meaning the business can pay its suppliers and its staff until its furlough grant is received from the government.
Matt Short, owner of Regency Corporation, said: “We were in growth mode and looking to increase our portfolio again this year. Now everything is on hold.
“During this difficult time, we want to make sure we look after both our staff and our suppliers. We use a lot of local suppliers, small brewers and artisan food producers that need to be paid.
“The support from Lloyds Bank has been great. It means we can pay our suppliers and pay staff wages whilst we wait for the furlough grant.
“Our Lloyds Bank relationship manager has been excellent – always available and willing to spare the time for us, despite being very busy himself. He talked us through several different options, and we agreed that CBILs was the right solution for us at this time. It was a very simple process and we had the money within a fortnight.
“Our pubs are typically at the heart of their communities. We have a lot of vulnerable people that use our sites. Some of these people don’t have families and are stuck at home. We’re mindful of our role in the community and want to support them. So, we’ve been checking in on customers and going to get them food if they need it. We have also allowed a few local street food vendors to use the kitchens in the pubs so that they can run delivery services.
Colin Grant, relationship manager at Lloyds Bank, said: “Matt and the team at Regency Corporation have grown the business over ten years. The business was going great guns and experiencing impressive growth pre the COVID-19 lockdown.
“We want to support businesses like Regency Corporation through the crisis and enable them to pursue growth once again in the months and years ahead.”
