Success Story
Region/Nation | London |
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Programme | Bounce Back Loan Scheme (BBLS) |
Partner |
Specialising both as a wholesaler and retailer of mobility and independent living aids, Mobility 2 You found many of the retailers which it supplies affected by COVID-19, affecting its supply chain. The business benefitted from a Bounce Back Loan Scheme to invest in technology to help it pivot to keep it’s products going to market.
Read what the business had to say in this BBLS case study.
British Business Bank: Can you tell us what your company does?
Alpesh Shah, CEO and Founder or Mobility 2 You: We are a wholesaler and retailer of mobility and independent living aids to retailers and consumers across the UK. We are based in London and have national coverage.
How did COVID-19 affect your business, and why did this mean you needed funding?
Many of the retailers which we supply were affected by the pandemic and continuous lockdowns. Some of business customers had to remain closed and others had very restrictive retail settings. This meant that our supply chain was severely impacted. The demand from the end consumer was still there, however the product itself could not be purchased through our retailers in the same way it could before.
What did you think would have happened to your business if your application hadn’t been approved?
Without the Bounce Back Loan we would not have been able to make the rapid investment needed to re-engineer our route to market. Technology became key through the pandemic and having the right business systems and platforms was essential to use being able to supply our customers, many of whom could not access our products through traditional means. As a small business we simply could not have made this key investment without the BBLS loan. Our market share would surely have eroded and would have struggled with overheads and other costs.
The loan helped us invest in our technical infrastructure, allowing us to rapidly react to customer demand by creating an evolved route to market. - Alpesh Shah Ceo and Founder of Mobility 2 You
How helpful have you found the repayment terms for your Bounce Back Loan?
We did review the repayment terms. They are extremely helpful, however the investment needs of our business are very different now and the options of either delaying the payment or making interest only payment were not suitable for us as it is our desire to pay the loan off so that we can take on other larger investment.
Are you paying back your Bounce Back Loan through one of the Pay As You Grow options? And if so, which option did you choose?
We carefully considered the options available for Pay As You Grow but we were in a position where we could start paying back the loan straight away and we didn’t opt for any of the options on offer as we didn’t need them. Whilst we didn’t need these options, it’s great to see these on offer to other businesses who may need them as they recover from the COVID period