Personalised clothing business secures £200k loan

Kingfisher Leisurewear, based in Ludlow, has secured the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan (CBILS) from the Paragon Bank.

The loan, which was sourced through asset finance broker Premier Asset Finance, has enabled the personalised clothing business to manage cash flow issues during the pandemic.

The CBILS loan has allowed the business to continue payments to suppliers, staff and sub-contractors, whilst waiting to get full payments from customers in the tourism industry.

Kingfisher Leisurewear produces personalised garments to a range of industries, including school uniforms and leavers hoodies, universities, workwear and tourist attractions. During the Covid-19 pandemic lockdown, the business was unable to source stock and faced reduced demand across a number of sectors, such as tourism and workwear, which led to it having to furlough most of its employees until business resumed again at the end of April.

Kingfisher Leisurewear is now seeing demand pick up gradually as various industries begin to resume activity, and the business is now set to exceed its autumn business targets.

The business has a longstanding relationship with both Paragon Bank and Premier Asset Finance and has worked with the latter for 12 years. In 2018, Premier organised a loan through Paragon to finance a £300,000 digital textile printing machine, which increased the business’ efficiency and productivity.

Angus Mitchell, managing director of Kingfisher Leisurewear Ltd, said: “The Covid-19 pandemic had a big impact on our business. The CBILS loan has allowed us to manage payment issues with some of our customers that work in industries badly affected by the pandemic, including tourism. This has allowed us to nurture relationships with these customers by offering more flexibility, which has been an added bonus.

“We have a long-standing relationship with Premier Asset Finance and Paragon, who really know our business inside out and have supported its growth over the last few years.”

John Phillipou, managing director of SME lending at Paragon, said: “We are so pleased that we can support our customers through challenges presented by the pandemic. Our understanding of Kingfisher Leisurewear has meant that we have been able to provide ongoing support, tailored to its needs, both prior to the coronavirus pandemic and during.”

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 that are both competitive and bespoke.

“We have been working with Kingfisher Leisurewear for well over a decade and look forward to continuing this relationship and supporting the business.”