Allied Glass: Proactive refinancing tailored for growth
Allied Glass is a combination of two Yorkshire high-end specialist spirits bottle makers with a proud history from the 1870s. It moved into the spirits sector in the 1970s, when it built a strong reputation as a manufacturer of difficult-to-do and complex bottles. Allied Glass’ biggest sector today is whisky, which by 2014 was about 60% of its product base.
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.
Learn more about Asset Based & Cashflow Lending
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.”
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