E-commerce business targeting £8m turnover gets £250,000 loan
A growing e-commerce business is set to expand its sales in Europe thanks to a £250,000 loan.
Established three years ago, Total Racking Solutions, a supplier of shelving and racking within the UK has received the money from NPIF – Mercia Debt Finance, which is managed by Mercia and part of the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund.
The company’s clients range from warehouses and logistics firms to retailers and householders. Its customers include big names such as Costa Coffee, the NHS, Warner Bros and Ocado.
The business employs 15 people at its base in Normanton and operates websites in French and Italian. The funding will allow it to launch sites in other European languages and create six new jobs.
Total Racking was founded by entrepreneur Keith Slinger, who has a track record in the industry. This is his first online business. The company’s turnover grew from £1m in its first year to £3m the following year and is now on target to hit more than £8m in the current year.
Slinger said: “Following the rapid growth of our business throughout Europe, we needed a quick funding solution and approached the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund. The Mercia team really understood our needs and responded very quickly – the whole process took just weeks from start to finish. The funds will help us expand into other European countries and meet growing demand.”
David Wright, Investment Manager with Mercia, said: “Total Racking Solutions has built its success on quality products and speed of service. The company has sophisticated systems in place to fulfil orders and achieves high customer ratings with few returns. We were delighted to be able to react quickly to Keith’s request and help support its move into new territories within Europe.”
Mark Wilcockson, at British Business Bank, said: “We are pleased that NPIF has continued to support high-growth businesses in the North, providing vital funding to enable job creation and expansion into new markets. The investment demonstrates how this funding can make a real and measurable difference to businesses across the Northern Powerhouse region, which helps create a more prosperous regional economy.”
The Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund is supported financially by the European Union. It uses funding from the European Regional Development Fund as part of the European Structural and Investment Funds Growth Programme 2014-2020 and the European Investment Bank.
