South West businesses given £20m boost by Secure Trust Bank
Secure Trust Bank Commercial Finance has provided more than £20m to the South West’s SME community, underlining the appetite for alternative funding sources from businesses in the region.
Since launching in November 2014, Secure Trust Bank’s business lending arm has worked with 23 businesses in the South West, providing £22.25m of limits.
This includes the £2m funding package provided to Stage Electrics, one of Europe’s leading providers of stage lighting and sound equipment to theatres and the entertainment industry. The Bristol-based business, which has worked on the likes of The Great British Bake Off, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and The Bodyguard, is using the funding to develop plans for new sites in Avonmouth and Patchway, as it looks to improve margins in the next three years.
In the last 12 months, Secure Trust Bank Commercial Finance has also provided funding lines to South West businesses BCE Distributors, the global supplier of Riley Snooker tables and cues, as well as rapidly growing IT consultancy Inspire.
Nationally, the funder has now advanced funding in excess of £150m to SMEs, supporting both organic and acquisitive growth strategies. This includes working alongside private equity houses to complete management buyouts, as well as enabling businesses to expand their reach and production both in the UK and overseas.
David Parsons, strategic development director at Secure Trust Bank Commercial Finance, said:
“Outside of London and the South East, the South West is one of the best performing economies in the UK, largely driven by the quality of the region’s SME community.
“A significant barrier to growth for many of these businesses is funding, but through the strength of our relationships with both management teams and the wider business advisory community, we have been able to provide flexible and tailored facilities that support SMEs as they look to reach their potential.”
