Ski-wear specialist gets £2.6m backing from Bibby

LIVERPOOL-based Bibby Financial Services is backing ski-wear company Surfanic International to the tune of £2.6m.

The deal is a combination of £700,000 in trade finance to support the business with its imports capacity and £1.7m of invoice financing for its UK trade.

Essex-based Surfanic International Ltd designs and manufactures skiwear for UK retailers.

The business also imports a range of its products from China and sells to customers in over 20 countries.

The business had suffered from underfunding from their finance provider, resulting in them being unable to fulfil new customer orders. The existing facility was becoming increasingly restrictive, and BFS were able to increase funding lines enabling the business to meet customer demands for the busy winter period.

Marc Pang, Surfanic International, said: “We found the offer from high street banks for funding quite restrictive with what they were able to provide for new business enquiries.

“BFS were able to provide an add-on flexible facility which had a lower cost to our business.”

The funding deal has resulted in Surfanic becoming the key skiwear supplier for a global high street brand, with the customer looking to roll their designs out into other countries in 2017.

Chris Farnworth, corporate manager at Bibby, said: “This is a fantastic example of how we can provide an integrated finance package that supports clients and offers flexible capital solutions. We were able to understand the complex trade cycles whilst understanding the timing of the cash flow needs.”

Ian Hepworth, director of funding dolutions who introduced Surfanic to BFS, said: “This is a great example of how we work with clients to understand their needs and come up with tailored solutions. With unrestricted funding in place, Surfanic can continue to grow and prosper.”