William Hare lines up funding worth £41.5m
STRUCTURAL steel group William Hare has agreed new banking facilities with Lloyds Banking Group.
The Bury-based business has arranged a £41.5m working capital and foreign exchange funding package after switching from its longstanding banker Barclays.
The funding was put together by the bank’s Manchester team headed by Paul Foster and Martin Morgan.
Last year William Hare overcame the slowdown in the construction industry to record a 9% rise in pre-tax profits to £10.7m on group turnover of £213m, up 17%. Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation increased by 7.1% to £15.1m.
The business, which employs 1,600 staff, has continued to grow in the UK and overseas and now produces 125,000 tonnes of structural steel a year. It has steel fabrication facilities in the United Arab Emirates and an engineering operation in India.
In a statement group finance director Brendon Banner said: “The group has seen exceptional growth over the last three years both here and abroad despite the current economic climate.”
He added: “Lloyds could provide the right funding and services for the group, and it had a local team that could build up strong relationships with our senior staff.”
William Hare was founded in 1945 and is chaired by Sue Hodgkiss, a former High Sheriff of Greater Manchester and the daughter of founder William Hare.
