One of the UK's biggest independent suppliers of scaffolding equipment has secured a £1m Covid-19 loan as it looks to survive the lockdown.
Merseyside-based George Roberts NW Ltd secured the funding from Barclays via the Government-backed Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS)
The Bootle firm, based in the region for over 28 years, said the finance will ensure it can get through a "difficult time" for the construction industry.
It said that with the effective shut down of the sector, many clients have been unable to continue with planned projects so have had to defer a number of their capital and development projects, presenting significant cash flow challenges until normal trading resumes.
But the board, along with Barclays, set out to form a contingency plan to protect the business and ensure long-term future liquidity.
The firm said the loan will help with cash flow to cover business costs and overcome the loss of all-important spring and summer sales.
Mark Roach, finance director of George Roberts NW, said: “During March and into April following the government lock down we quite naturally experienced a reduction in orders due mainly to most construction sites being totally shut down and inaccessible.
“Fortunately, although significant, this was not as destructive and damaging to our business as to some of our competitors, due to the diversity of markets we operate in ie, industrial, offshore, nuclear, oil and gas and the food and drink industry.
"We are considered an essential service and fortunately able to stay open to service these clients, while carefully following government guidelines to ensure the health and wellbeing of our loyal workforce.
“Our plan factored into account immediately furloughing a small group of staff, although strong continuous employment still remained vital to handle existing orders and new orders still coming in.
"The second part of plan involved applying for the CBILS with Barclays, again guaranteeing liquidity and maintain a platform to ensure the business retains and even improves its status in the market place going forward."
Graham Duckworth, Barclays' relationship director, said: “I’ve been hugely impressed by both the resilience and the agility of the board of directors to quickly develop a robust contingency plan to help safeguard the future of the business.
"We spent time looking at their financial forecasts and put together a successful loan application and now they have the financial headroom to get through this disruptive period and be ready to reopen fully when the time comes.”
