The Challenge
A well-known bodyshop franchise were beginning to incur losses at one of their South-West based sites due to the premises having low visibility and little walk-in trade.
The customer was one of the fastest growing professional repairer networks in the UK, with more than 100 independently owned, fully branded franchised bodyshops located in the UK, and over 700 globally. Over the past decade, the business had seen significant growth due to a proven business model built on providing the tools and support to drive transformational change and increased profit.
To continue their aggressive expansion strategy, management of the business wanted to fund a new unit move to avoid incurring any further losses from the site. The new site will have a workspace that is four times the size of their previous site, standing at 15,000 square-feet.
The Solution
The business approached PMD Business Finance who then used their extensive knowledge of their funders’ appetite to secure £317k+ VAT in funding for six hire purchase agreements across four separate funders. The funded equipment consisted of mezzanine flooring, LED lighting, 2 large spray booths, a MOT bay and a measuring system.
With accessibility to the funding solutions PMD were able to source, the business is now returning to decent margins and are now on course to provide long-term shareholder value.
The Results
The support provided by PMD on this investment and aid in the relocation of the business resulted in a significant uplift in walk-in trade. The new centre is now positioned closer to the town’s main retail park and roads that lead to the motorway as well as holding 25 work bays, giving them the capacity to repair more than 250 vehicles a month.
As a result of being able to fund a new site and equipment upgrade, the business has been awarded contracts from 2 large accident repair brokers.
Despite the challenges of lockdown and remote working we have been working proactively with our clients to help them manage the impact of covid-19. Forecasting cash flows and securing funding to support our clients has been key to this. Working closely with PMD and the client meant we were able to source a funding structure that minimises the impact of COVID-19 and supports their future growth plans.