The Challenge
By 2015, market conditions for whisky had tightened. Back then, Allied Glass had relationships with four banks, one of which was Solutions. Capital. Empowered people. Investec. It began to see clear differences in the banks’ attitudes - some were neutral and one made it clear it no longer supported manufacturing in the same way.” They wanted to invest for strong growth plans and needed a banking partner for the long term that understood and supported them.
Investec's solution
The Investec team approached Allied Glass and said that; “we love your business, we understand your position, and we believe you have a strong future.” Investec showed its trust by coming up with a proposal to be the sole banker for Allied Glass. The suggestion was to move from a traditional vanilla loan, half repayment and half bullet, to one facility: a combination of an amortising loan spread over six years and revolving asset-based lending secured against stocks and debtors.”
This was great for a number of reasons; it went back to a single banking relationship – a very strong one (that is also slightly cheaper) and the Allied Glass team is now able to spend time on proper business-related issues and proactive planning.
But most of all Allied were able to invest where they needed to, in its people and equipment. It’s vital in this business to be ahead of the game with capital expenditure, and thanks to the Investec team Allied Glass have been able to achieve that.
The Investec team stepped up. The bank was one of the four already used by Allied Glass. And it was the one to see beyond the short-term.
Outcome
Allied Glass’ turnover increased by 10% in 2017 and a further 12% in 2018. The bottom line is growing too. That growth has come from new business; it now has 50% more customers. The growth has been possible because of investments it made – all on the back of the Investec team’s unanimous support and financing.
This would never have happened if Allied had carried on with the four-bank club. Investec has fully supported Allied Glass, which has made all the difference. Alan Henderson, CEO of Allied Glass, explains; “The Investec team that structured the facility remain as the ongoing relationship team and there’s real trust within the partnership. Ultimately that’s what matters most.”
More client case studies
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2M
Polyco Healthline
Downton
TechStream
Integrity Print
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2M
2M Holdings was set up by Mottie Kessler and a business partner in 2003. It provides chemicals and application know-how to a number of industries across many sectors from cosmetics, personal care and pharmaceuticals to automotive, water treatment and emissions reduction. Other chemicals companies cover some areas – but there are few that have such a broad range as 2M.
Polyco Healthline
Our funding structure blends asset based and cashflow lending which supported the merger transaction and provides substantial headroom for ongoing working capital, seasonality and growth requirements. Investec has provided a £44.5m facility to support the merger of BM Polyco and HPC Group, blending receivables and inventory revolvers with cashflow term lending.
Downton
Downton is one of the UK’s leading privately owned logistics firms, with a strong reputation for quality and delivery – providing the flexibility of a local business but with national reach. The Downton family successfully built and developed the business from a single truck to now over 600 trucks and 1,000 trailers over the course of several decades. The majority of customers are blue-chip leading brands across a variety of sectors and include Dyson, Pets at Home, Fever-Tree and AB InBev UK.
TechStream
Our funding structure blends asset based and cashflow lending which supported the merger transaction and provides substantial headroom for ongoing working capital, seasonality and growth requirements. Investec has provided a £44.5m facility to support the merger of BM Polyco and HPC Group, blending receivables and inventory revolvers with cashflow term lending.