Once the effects of COVID-19 began to take hold, engineering animation consultants Cadherent decided its best approach for the long term was to use Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS) funding to take stock and diversify their operations.
Success Story
| Region/Nation | Scotland |
|---|---|
| Programme | Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS) |
| Partner |
Read what the business had to say in this CBILS case study.
British Business Bank: Can you tell us what your company does?
David Thomson, managing director of Cadherent: At Cadherent, we say we are ‘engineers who animate’. The company consists of engineering, 3D laser survey and visualisation departments and historically has worked in the oil and gas industry. However, it has diversified in the last few years to work in renewables, aquaculture and whiskey.
The coronavirus has affected a huge number of businesses across the UK. What problems were you facing as a result of the outbreak and what made you apply for CBILS support?
We’ve seen a slowdown in orders, as we expected. A lot of the work we do is on ships and offshore installations, which has been challenging with social distancing. We took out a CBILS loan to give us the extra cashflow we need to get through the first quarter of 2021, although we also plan to use the money to diversify our operations and apply our engineering and visualisation skills to other sectors.
The availability of CBILS has been a huge help to our business during this crisis. The scheme has allowed us to take stock as the situation has evolved, without making knee-jerk decisions. - David Thomson managing director of Cadherent
How long did the application process take? Did you need any support?
We completed our application with help from FSB (Federation of Small Businesses) and it took just 15 minutes.
What advice would you give to other businesses that are applying for a CBILS loan?
When it comes to deciding on a lender, explore your options. Some lenders might have great adverts saying that they are dynamic and ready to help, but in my experience that hasn’t always been the case.
How has the CBILS loan helped your business to weather the outbreak? And what might have happened if you hadn’t received it?
The availability of CBILS has been a huge help to our business during this crisis. The scheme has allowed us to take stock as the situation has evolved, without making knee-jerk decisions.
Without the loan, we’d certainly have been forced to take a far more cautious approach in the short term while the markets settle. This would have meant some employees losing their jobs and the business having to immediately stop any spending within its supply chain.
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