Car garage lands six-figure funding line
IN‘n’OUT Autocentres, the Northampton-headquartered group of 27 car garages, has secured a £750,000 loan from HSBC UK through the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS).
The company specialises in MOTs as well as a broad range of maintenance, repairs and servicing work for passenger and light commercial vehicles. Following the Government’s announcement of the MOT extension earlier this year as a result of the coronavirus outbreak, IN‘n’OUT took several steps to manage the impact, one of which was the application for a CBILS from HSBC UK.
Following the end of the MOT extension in October, the business saw a significant increase in demand for its services and quickly returned to pre-Covid trading levels. IN‘n’OUT is using the six-figure loan from HSBC UK to mitigate the challenges faced this year as a result of the pandemic.
Jon Morgan, CEO of IN‘n’OUT, said: “We had plans to continue our growth in 2020 with more new locations planned, however Covid put these plans on hold. As a result, we have used 2020 as an opportunity to refine our business model by extending one of our centres as well as relocating another, and we are already seeing the benefit of this increased capacity. For example, we are planning the imminent opening of our new Reading centre which we hope will open before the end of the year.
“The CBILS funding from HSBC UK has supported IN’n’OUT by providing us renewed confidence to push on with our expansion plans as we move into 2021.”
Kevin Miller, finance director of IN‘n’Out, said: “This year has been turbulent to say the least. The initial six month deadline extension for MOTs which started in April had a significant impact on our business. Thankfully, we have been able to rely on a strong trading relationship with HSBC UK, and in particular our relationship director, Sean Walsh, for support during these uncertain times. MOTs are now back up and running and we have had an influx of customers needing services and repair work done to their cars, so the latter part of 2020 has certainly helped to level things out for us.”
Victoria Ritchie, head of commercial banking in London City, HSBC UK, added: “HSBC UK was delighted to support IN‘n’OUT, offering a CBILS loan to support the business’s working capital and ongoing employment through its network of 27 branches, as well as enabling it to continue the provision of key services to its clients.
