Akcros Chemicals seals £7m funding deal
A CHEMICALS company which was forced to refinance as a result of the collapse of an Icelandic bank has secured more than £7m funding.
Manchester-based Akcros Chemicals provides additives which are used in the manufacture of a diverse range of plastic products – from flooring to paints and medical applications to tarpaulins.
It has a turnover of £60m a year and its products are exported to more than 50 countries around the world.
After its previous Icelandic funder, Landsbanki, withdrew from the British market, Akcros approached a number of banks before agreeing a flexible working capital facility with RBS’s asset-based lending (ABL) division, RBS Invoice Finance.
The bank’s asset finance arm, Lombard, also provided new lending of approximately £700,000 to fund investment in new machinery at Akcros’s Eccles base.
Richard Catchpole, chief executive officer at Akcros Chemicals, said: “We are delighted to have agreed a new ABL facility with RBS, which provides us with the security and flexibility we require to achieve our growth objectives.
“Having to refinance during the depths of a recession was not ideal, but the strong relationship that we built with the team over the course of several months and the RBS ability to deliver a full one-stop-shop solution was key to us choosing them.
“During the downturn, we took action to align our business to the changing landscape and have managed to keep growing over the past year or so by developing new product lines and winning new customers in overseas markets.
“The results we’ve produced over the last year or so have justified our confidence in this strategy and the funding from RBS gives us security and flexibility as we continue to grow.”
Akcros was acquired by its management in a private equity-backed buy-out from chemicals giant Akzo Nobel in 2007.
Neil Dobson, corporate director at RBS Invoice Finance, said: “Akcros, like many manufacturing businesses, has not been immune from the global downturn.
“However, by maintaining a close relationship with management we were able to understand and appreciate the steps they have taken to buck the trend and secure a long-term future for the business.
“We are pleased to support a long established Manchester manufacturing business which already has a global footprint and whose future growth will continue to be led by export sales.”
The company’s history can be traced back to 1937 when its manufacturing facility in Eccles first opened its doors.
It employs the majority of its 140-strong workforce on the same site to this day, with the remainder working at its US subsidiary in New Jersey.
