Member Article

Future is bright for Preston lighting firm with contract wins and trade finance agreement

A Preston-based business which provides specialist LED lighting for property developments is experiencing rapid growth after securing a number of significant contracts and a trade finance agreement with Creative Capital.

Established in 2006, Lumenata Lighting Design, which is based in Bamber Bridge, designs, supplies and installs fully customised lighting schemes for commercial and residential properties in the UK and Europe.

Recent high profile work includes projects at London’s Shard building, Coventry City Football Club and in the North West clients include Blackburn Rovers Football Club, Royal Preston Hospital and a number of Premier League footballers who have used its services to create impressive lighting features in their homes.

The company, which employs four people and has a turnover of £600k, is planning on creating a number of new jobs in the near future.

The business is supported by a short-term trade finance facility supplied by independent alternative lender Creative Capital, who are providing a working capital boost so that stock can be imported to fulfil large new contracts.

Managing director of Lumenata Lighting Design, Paul Hindle, said: “We’ve seen a dramatic rise in demand over the past 12 months as architects, developers and interior designers are increasingly looking to create, high-tech LED lighting solutions to give their buildings real stand out appeal.

“We’re in a strong position to further capitalise on this as we are one of the few specialist businesses capable of designing and delivering complex and custom lighting installations using the highest quality components.

“Creative Capital has been an important enabling factor in our growth. Other lenders were unable to provide us with trade finance facilities we needed to secure and fund major new contracts. They moved quickly to provide a tailored package that bridges the gap between the purchase of significant quantities of stock and receiving payment from the client.”

Director of trade finance at Creative Capital, Keith Bolton, said: “We look at each business on its own merits and could see that whilst Paul and the team are in a strong position within a growing market, they need additional financial headroom to take on large opportunities.

“Trade finance can be overlooked by SMEs as it’s often associated with larger businesses and is rarely offered on a limited ‘one off’ basis by established traditional lenders.

“We launched our facilities last year to plug that gap. Short-term, transparent trade finance facilities suit smaller businesses who want to use it tactically to boost working capital and support cash flow around larger contracts.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Sophia Taha .