Member Article

TROPICAL MARINE CENTRE LOOKS TO FUTURE WITH SUPPORT FROM HSBC

Multi-million pound HSBC funding to aide ambitious European expansion

Rickmansworth-based Tropical Marine Centre, the UK’s largest aquatic wholesaler, has secured a £3.9m financing package from HSBC.

The deal with HSBC will help Tropical Marine Centre move to the next stage of its evolution by funding a buy-out of all non-equity investors in the business, allowing the company to encourage wider investment in the company from the management team. This internal investment and growth of manager stakeholders has also allowed Tropical Marine Centre to implement a succession plan covering the business for the next 15 years.

In the last 12 months Tropical Marine Centre has begun delivering direct to retailers in Germany and Holland, a strategy that has paid dividends and now accounts for a significant amount of the company’s turnover. The successes in these countries has inspired the firm’s wider international expansion plans, which will be partly financed by HSBC.

Paul West, Chief Executive Officer, Tropical Marine Centre, said: “The financing from HSBC is instrumental in driving the next stage of our business lifecycle. Part of the funding will also be put towards driving forward our ambitions in Europe. We already export around 30 per cent of our goods and the strategy we have developed of delivering direct to retailers in Holland and Germany has been an overwhelming success. With continued support and advice from HSBC we plan to capitalise on the opportunities within these territories.”

Roger Pratt, HSBC’s Area Director in East Midlands, said: “Tropical Marine Centre is a long-established British business that we’re excited to be working alongside. HSBC is committed to supporting ambitious businesses like this and we look forward to seeing the company continue to grow in the future.”

Established in 1970, Tropical Marine Centre is the largest supplier of marine life in the UK, supplying retailers, aquariums and researchers across the UK and Europe. The company has three sites across the UK in London, Manchester and Bristol and one European site in Lisbon, Portugal. Supporting its ambitious European plans, Tropical Marine Centre also has a service centre based in Germany.

Tropical Marine Centre currently has a turnover of £15 million per annum, employs around 110 people and in 2017 was named as one of London Stock Exchange’s ‘Top 1,000 companies to inspire Britain’.

HSBC’s Relationship Director, Jack Coley, led the deal for Tropical Marine Centre and continues to provide guidance as the company progresses its business strategy.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Bethany Haller .