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After dealing with a year of uncertainty, which saw a change in business ownership, this commercial vehicle specialist is now exceeding its sales goals, servicing new customers and hiring more staff, with Skipton Business Finance by its side.
Background
Based in Stockton-on-Tees, Riverside Commercial Services specialises in a wide range of commercial vehicle services including fleet maintenance, steam cleaning and 24 hour breakdown recovery.
Originally formed in 2007 as an independent commercial services garage and workshop, the company eventually grew and needed to move to a larger, purpose-built workshop.
With the business flourishing, Riverside Commercial Services partnered with Skipton Business Finance in 2013 to inject working capital into the business and improve inconsistent cashflow cycles.
As Finance Director Lisa Cowley noted, one of the key components of the successful partnership was down to the personable service offered by Skipton Business Finance.
“It’s a fab relationship,” says Lisa. “I just feel like I can ring up and our relationship manager, Caroline, will do anything she can to help us out.”
Riverside Commercial Services uses its invoice finance facility to stabilise cashflow, which is almost a necessity in an industry with many upfront costs.
Challenge
After a decade with the company, one of its original directors and shareholders stepped down - a move which, if mismanaged, could have had a negative impact on its performance and credit rating.
Fortunately, the company was quick to act and had Skipton Business Finance for support.
Solution
In this difficult situation, the company was looking to start a new chapter in its history and needed a boost of cashflow. Because of the strong relationship with its invoice finance provider it was able to manage this efficiently.
“We didn’t have this option with a bank,” explains Lisa, “but if we did it would’ve been a long drawn out process to get sorted.
“But at Skipton, I requested the money on a Tuesday and it was sorted by the Friday. That massively helped us out.”
Result
Since last year Riverside Commercial Services has increased its sales by 20% and is taking on new technical staff to meet requirements. It even went through a rebrand as a marker of a new era for the company.
“We’ve grown and we’re still growing,” says Lisa. “It took some time to get back into the swing of things. But we’re going in the right direction. It’s hard work but it’s definitely worth it.”
3 most liked qualities about Skipton Business Finance
Consistency:
“I feel like it’s a massive help. It’s like our backup because sometimes cashflow can be quiet one week or sky-high the next.”
Reliability:
“We’re obviously very, very busy and they will help out with the account, making sure they sort through the payments and release the money quickly for us if we’re in a rush.”
A friendly approach:
“It’s very down to earth. Caroline [relationship manager] is a calming force and it’s always great to speak to Jonathan [credit control].
“There’s nothing bad I could say. We get phone calls to poach us but I would never think of leaving. We’re very happy with the service we get.”
Want to take on bigger deals?
There is a way to take on more lucrative deals without the risk of your cashflow suffering in the process.
Invoice Factoring or Invoice Discounting can help stabilise cashflow by allowing you to draw working capital as soon as you raise an invoice, instead of waiting up to 90 days for payments.
We tailor our funding and facilities to fit into how your business operates. We won’t just run your details through a computer to make a decision. We sit down with you and understand how your business operates and how best to support it financially.
If you would like a no-obligation FREE quote email info@skiptonbf.co.uk or use the quick and simple form on the right and one of our regional experts will call you back.
About Skipton Business Finance (SBF)
Skipton Business Finance provide businesses with working capital through flexible Invoice Finance solutions, including Invoice Factoring, Invoice Discounting, our confidential My White Label solution and our interest-free Skipton Select solution.
SBF can provide working capital to a business by advancing funds varying from £25,000 up to £5m.
Backed by the Skipton Building Society, we look at the individual merits of a business as part of our underwriting criteria. We look at potential sales figures and the whole context, not only credit scores.
We don’t just run details through a computer to make a decision. We sit down with you and understand how your business operates, how you want to be funded and how we can support you.
Want to understand how Invoice Financing can help your business? Why not have a look at our solutions: