Success Story
| Region/Nation | East Midlands |
|---|---|
| Programme | Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS) |
| Partner |
Despite having to furlough workers and take vehicles off road due to COVID-19, this warehousing and distribution company remained financially stable. But once it won contracts to distribute PPE, it needed capital to expand its fleet. A loan via the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS) provided the necessary capital.
Read what the business had to say in this CBILS case study.
British Business Bank: Can you tell us what your company does?
Phil Minney, managing director of EFM Distribution: EFM Distribution is a specialist warehousing distribution located in the centre of Northampton, serving the UK.
How did COVID-19 affect your business, and why did this mean you needed funding?
It had a big impact on staffing, as we had to furlough 10 employees. We also had to take eight of our 24 vehicles off the road.
Initially, we didn’t need to apply to CBILS as we’d requested payment holidays from finance companies. However, after a discussion with our lender, Scania Financial Services, CBILS became an option we could use to acquire more vehicles. By July/August 2020, we were generating lots of new business, and by October we had to implement overnight work to deliver the PPE contracts we’d taken on.
The funding our lender provided via CBILS has enabled us to continue operations, and our projections for this year are a doubling of our turnover.
How did you find the application process?
Easy – we ordered the vehicles and emailed a few finance companies for funding. Only Scania Financial Services offered the option of CBILS, and using the scheme gave us enough time to switch over the vehicles on the fleet.
Without CBILS, we wouldn’t have been able to run vehicles effectively, which would have led to a loss of work. CBILS definitely allowed us to continue with this part of our business. - Phil Minney managing director of EFM Distribution
What do you think would have happened to your business if your application hadn’t been approved?
We wouldn’t have been able to run vehicles effectively, which would have led to a loss of work. CBILS definitely allowed us to continue with this part of our business, and meant we didn’t have to look so closely at work and cashflow throughout the pandemic, which is a variable nobody has full knowledge of.
What advice would you give to other businesses applying for coronavirus-related funding?
Certainly take it! It protects your business interests and gives you enough time to consider your next move, and aids in future planning. And with our lender, we can pay back what we don’t want or settle finance early, at any time.
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