Garden furniture retailer agrees £17m funding deal to feed surging demand
Multi-channel garden furniture retailer, Moda Furnishings, has agreed a new £17m funding package with Secure Trust Bank Commercial Finance as UK demand for outdoor living continues to soar.
The Manchester-based company, acquired in September 2019 in an MBO led by CEO Jonny Brierley and COO Vallan McCarthy, backed by the Manchester office of mid-market private equity investor Endless, has had another exceptional year of growth with revenues set to exceed £35m in the year to the end of October, from £24.5m in 2020 and £15.3m in 2019.
The new funding package comes just 12 months after a £7m deal with Secure Trust and sees the innovative inventory and cashflow funding solution more than double in size to match the continued growth of Moda as it expands its outdoor living product range and also opens new showrooms across the UK to support the e-commerce-first trading model.
Gareth Lloyd, Moda Furnishings’ chief financial officer, said: “We’re delighted to complete the new funding facility with Secure Trust Bank. This gives Moda the opportunity to continue to invest in its supply chain at a time when many other businesses are struggling to service demand due to the current much documented challenges.
“In 2021 we saw the demand for outdoor furniture begin earlier in the year than ever, with customers placing winter orders to secure deliveries in February, to ensure they could enjoy early spring weather socialising in their gardens with friends and family, and we expect this trend to continue.”
He added: “Our new funding package ensures we will be able to match that demand with market leading lead times of only seven-10 days, ensuring our customers receive the highest standards of delivery and product quality.”
Tom Jack, partner at Endless in Manchester, said: “Moda’s strategy of investing significantly in its supply chain – including its own in-house delivery fleet – has been incredibly prescient, and we are delighted to see this market leading and entrepreneurial business go from strength to strength.
“Secure Trust Bank has been fantastic in its support for Moda as the business continues to grow. This important new funding package will enable the business to maintain its stellar sales performance and its outstanding levels of customer service.”
The Moda team: Gareth Lloyd, Jonny Brierley, Val McCarthy
Paul Johnston, regional managing director at Secure Trust Bank commercial finance team, said: “We’re pleased to build on our existing relationship with Moda with this new increased facility. Moda has a really strong management team that has been instrumental in the business’s growth to date.
“We look forward to working with the team and providing further flexible support as the business continues to grow.”
2021 has been a landmark year for Moda as it gained a ranking in the prestigious Sunday Times BDO Profit Track 100 for the first time, being placed 64th in the index of the UK’s 100 private companies with the fastest growing profits over their latest three years.
