Turtle Wax drives on with growth plans

LIVERPOOL-based Bibby Financial Services (BFS) has provided £6m in funding to help accelerate a global car-care product manufacturer’s expansion.

The facility, structured by BFS’ corporate finance team, will help Turtle Wax’s growth plans for its Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) operations.

Mark Brickhill, EMEA president for Turtle Wax, said: “We have ambitious plans to grow throughout the EMEA region and required a finance partner that not only understood the history and seasonality of our business, but that could also support our expansion plans for the future.

“We considered a number of options but Bibby Financial Services were able to demonstrate both experience and acumen in structuring a finance package that was competitive and flexible.

“Throughout the process we were expertly advised by Tim Clarke, partner at independent corporate finance advisors Park Place. With suitable financing in place, we’re now looking forward to better servicing our customers in our 70th anniversary year, and beyond.”

Founded in Chicago in 1945, Turtle Wax remains a family-owned and operated business with sales in more than 90 countries.

In October 2014 it relocated its EMEA headquarters to Bootle, Liverpool, and is now planning to grow market share throughout the region following the launch of two new product lines.

BFS corporate manager, Chris Farnsworth, said: “Turtle Wax is a market leading, global brand with significant expansion plans. This was a complex deal, where we had to get to know the business; understand their future plans and structure a finance facility that would support domestic growth here in the UK but also help them to achieve their ambitious export targets throughout Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

“This partnership demonstrates our expertise and breadth of capability in leveraging a company’s hard and soft assets to unlock growth.”