Brickwork Services

Partner:FW Capital

Region:Tees Valley

Location:Hartlepool

Programme:Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund

Teesside firm Brickwork Services  secured a £160,000 loan from NPIF – FW Capital Debt Finance, backed by CBILS and part of the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund.

Using the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS), to support the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund,  FW Capital is able to loan between £100k and £750k to SMEs that are experiencing lost or deferred revenues, leading to disruptions to their cash flow.

Established in 2004 by experienced builder Steve Willis, Hartlepool-based Brickwork Services provides high quality bricklaying and building services to high profile home builders  across the region. Securing a turnover of £3.4m last year, clients include residential property developers Bellway, Keepmoat and Dere Street Homes.

As the initial Covid-19 lockdown brought disruption to the business, halting and postponing various construction projects, the NPIF – FW Capital investment will provide working capital support. As demand returns to the market, funds will enable Brickwork Services to quickly scale its operations back up, in-turn safeguarded the jobs of its 17 full-time employees.

Alexandra Gent, Investment Executive at FW Capital, said: “Brickwork Services was proactive in adapting its working practices to deal with the constraints imposed by Covid-19, which has left it on a positive footing.

“We are delighted to have been able to assist the business as it delivers an exciting pipeline of work, supporting much-needed additional housing across the North East.”

The deal was introduced to FW Capital by James Clinghan at Trusted Business Partner.

James said: “Steve and his team at Brickwork Services are a really solid operation, the company is well run with an experienced management team but, sadly, it’s a business that fell through the gaps with a number of high street lenders in the current climate.

“We engaged with Alex and the team at FW Capital as well as James Dale and his team at Anderson Barrowcliff and we all worked closely through every section of the application to come out with a better overall solution that we originally hoped for. This will safeguard the business’s medium and long-term future and see many more apprentices get their start in industry.”

Steve Willis, Brickwork Services Ltd Director, said: “Brickwork Services is a company that is passionate about providing high-quality services to its customers, as well as giving opportunities to aspiring brick-layers and apprentices looking for work. The NPIF team at FW Capital understood this and were able to quickly provide us with the right kind of investment to suit our needs. We are grateful to them for the support.”

Both new and existing customers are eligible to apply for NPIF loans backed by CBILS from FW Capital who provide loans in the NPIF region with a focus on the North West, Cumbria and the Tees Valley.  Deadline for the CBILS scheme is 31 March 2021

Sean Hutchinson at British Business Bank, said: “Many businesses across the North have been adversely affected by the Covid-19 pandemic and it’s important we continue to provide the right kind of investment support. Brickwork Services is a clear example of a business that is looking to bounce back and will utilise funds to fulfil future contracts, whilst securing the future of its workforce.”

The Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund project is supported financially by the European Union using funding from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) as part of the European Structural and Investment Funds Growth Programme 2014-2020 and the European Investment Bank.

FW Capital Limited is regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority as a small authorised UK Alternative Investment Fund Manager under firm reference number 506719

Editors Notes