Wilkinson Star stocks up with £200,000 North West Fund
loan from FW Capital
5th July 2011
Wilkinson
Star, one of the UK’s largest welding equipment stockists is the
latest company to benefit from a North West Fund for Business loan
via FW Capital, the company which manages The North West Fund’s
£35m Business Loans Fund.
The £200,000 loan provides additional
working capital for the company to expand its product range and
improve stock levels to meet latent demand and increase its sales
revenues.
Established over 40 years ago, Wilkinson
Star supplies over 2,500 distributors from its purpose-built 55,000
sq.ft Worsley sales and distribution facility. The company
has built a strong customer base over the years. As well as its UK
and export sales operations, Wilkinson Star also provides
NVQ/VRQ-level training for apprentices and more experienced staff
on the latest welding equipment.
“We’ve worked hard to build up our company
into one of the UK’s major welding equipment wholesalers and we
have a reputation for providing a high-quality after-sales
service,” explained Chairman, John Wilkinson. “We’ve also
adapted to recent market pressures by sourcing more products from
the Far East and China rather than from our more traditional
European suppliers.”
Commenting on the investment, Wilkinson
added: “We have a well-established distributor network and demand
for the products we wholesale is strong. Added to this, we’re
always expanding our product range to maintain our competitive
edge. This investment will enable us to ensure we have the
right product range and stock levels in place to meet customer
demand.”
Simon Berry, Senior Investment Executive at
FW Capital said: “Wilkinson Star is a well-established North
West-based brand. It has built a large and loyal customer
base and its domestic and foreign sales are increasing. FW
Capital’s loan will enable its management team to continue growing
the business in a sustainable way.”
A contact of Berry’s at HSBC, commercial
manager, Ian Adams referred the deal to FW Capital. Commenting on
the investment, Adams said: “Wilkinson Star is a valued client with
a strong expansion plan, so referring to FW Capital for growth
funding was a natural progression. The North West Fund loan
complements HSBC’s working capital facilities and we look forward
to working with FW Capital again.”
FW Capital manages the £35 million North
West Fund for Business Loans, which makes loans of between £50,000
and £250,000 to viable small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs)
based in the North West of England.
Andy Leach, chief executive of NWBF said:
“It is especially pleasing that the North West Fund for Loans
has been able to support the growth plans of such a long
established North West business. Wilkinson Star has had to
adapt its business to cope with the changing economic climate and
is now able to capitalise on growth opportunities as a result.”
The North West Fund is a £185m evergreen
fund financed by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and
the European Investment Bank (EIB).
The Northwest Regional Development Agency
(NWDA) led the development and creation of The North West Fund from
drawing-board (2008) to launch (2010) and NWDA funding will
continue to support The North West Fund until 2015 as one of its
major legacy projects.
David Malpass, Director of European
Programme said: “It is encouraging to see businesses in the
Northwest’s key sectors continuing to grow. With investment
from The North West Fund Wilkinson Star is able to capitalise on
its strong growth potential even in tough economic conditions.”
Demand for welding and cutting products is
largely determined by global steel consumption and in 2010 global
steel demand exceeded 2007 levels.
Find out more about investing in the North
West of England.
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Marianna Marks
Tel: 07958 690659
E-mail: marianna@mandmcomms.com