Our investor has streamlined operations, paid suppliers, kept the workforce intact, some 150 jobs, and delivered on the company’s contracts.
Commercial Lighting is a globally recognised, pedigree brand with 50 years of experience supplying superior lighting systems of the highest profile to blue-chip corporations and governments.
Trading at £32million annually the company overextended its ambitions to grow to £100million and thus incurred abnormal costs. This led to banking anxiousness at the height of the recession, which resulted in the withdrawal of the company’s key credit line.
Very suddenly, without its anticipated facility, the company faced cash flow restrictions as a result of trying to close presentations for major tenders and meet the costs of projects committed to. At this point, Commercial Lighting was in a desperate position and approached Beer & Young for help.
B&Y moved swiftly to engineer a two-phase solution:
1. Within two weeks we had an aggressive asset-based lender committed to provide a £3.75million invoice-financing facility.
2. We introduced several potential investors. One of our investors came through – he successfully outwitted alternative bidders who were largely trade. With elegance, he funded an equity stake and, in tandem with an equity house, organised a £6.5million package that effectively rescued the business, via newco, settling the bank’s position in full and supporting the existing contracts.
There were smiles all around. We are happy to report the entire process, including due diligence and funding, was completed in just three months. Our investor has since streamlined operations, paid suppliers, kept the workforce intact (some 150 jobs), and delivered on the company’s contracts. Commercial Lighting is now well on course for sustained growth, fully-supported by new banking facilities, as organised by our investor, and will be built up for a profitable trade sale in three years.
