ZOO Digital turns to wife of CEO for a bigger loan
ZOO Digital today said it had increased the amount and the interest rate on a loan from the wife of its chief executive.
Sara Green originally loaned the company £200,000 in January to cover working capital requirements after a fall in orders.
Today the Sheffield-based group, which produces software used by companies in DVD and Blu-ray production, said it had increased the loan facility to £600,000 and will pay interest of 10% a year rather than the 5.5% above the Royal Bank of Scotland base rate agreed on the original loan.
ZOO said the extension of the loan would provide support for the expected growth of the business and as seasonal working capital cover.
It said the loan will remain secured on the assets of the company, involved no 
fees to CEO Dr Stuart Green or his wife Sara and repayments are expected to begin in March next year.
The company said today that ZOOsubs, its proprietary cloud-based subtitle production and management system, is “gathering momentum” and revenues are increasing.
It said: “As provision of the subtitling service entails payment by ZOO of sub-contract translators prior to cash receipts from the company’s customers, growth of this service line has driven a working capital requirement.
“The company is in negotiations with a number of suppliers of commercial financing to support its expectations of continuing growth. Meanwhile, ZOO will continue to monitor its cash resources and requirements, and has entered into the loan facility in order to support current trading and growth during a period when the company’s cash resources are, and traditionally have been, constrained.”
