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4 February 2010
Growth is Child's Play for Start up Giddie Kippers
A Walkden-based business which started six months ago is beginning its next phase of growth after securing a £10,000 loan from Lloyds TSB Commercial.
Giddie Kippers is a 9,000 sqft indoor children’s soft play activity centre based in Walkden, which caters for children up to eight years old.
Facilities include four tubular slides, two ball pools and a dining area with seating room for up to 120 people.
It also has two ‘Party Rooms’ for hire, one of which is a disco themed space with miniature dance floor.
Giddie Kippers was launched in April by using funding from friends and family.
After just six months trading the business now employs a team of 10, attracts around 800 visitors a week from across Manchester, and is on course to reach a first year turnover of around £250,000.
To continue this rate of growth, Katie approached banking partner Lloyds TSB Commercial for a loan package which would boost working capital and enable her to further develop the facilities.
The bank agreed a £5,000 overdraft to aid cash flow and a £5,000 loan for the business to invest in developing a comfortable, relaxing area for parents to watch their kids play.
With the funding in place, the business is also looking to expand its services to include after-school and holiday clubs and is considering opening other sites across Manchester.
Lloyds TSB Commercial recently launched its 2012 SME Charter which aims to encourage enterprise, boost access to finance and included a pledge to help 300,000 new start ups by 2012.
Katie Bowen said: “We started setting up the business two years ago, but after an 18-month wait for planning permission, we opened in the middle of a recession.
“It’s been challenging, but this area of Manchester was crying out for a facility like this, so trading has been strong from day one.
“When we saw Lloyds TSB Commercial’s Charter commitment we realised that it is very much geared up to support companies like Giddie Kippers, so we approached them with our business plan and quickly secured the funding we needed to continue growing.”
Leigh Taylor, area director for Lloyds TSB Commercial, said: “Giddie Kippers is a great example of the type of entrepreneurial and ambitious start up our 2012 Charter was designed to support.
“Katie and the team have created a business which is very much in tune with its customers, offering affordable admission fees which is crucial given the financial pressures many families are under.
“We’re looking forward to seeing the business continuing to develop and will aim to support Katie with guidance and funding throughout the economic cycle.”
Giddie Kippers is a 9,000 sqft indoor children’s soft play activity centre based in Walkden, which caters for children up to eight years old.
Facilities include four tubular slides, two ball pools and a dining area with seating room for up to 120 people.
It also has two ‘Party Rooms’ for hire, one of which is a disco themed space with miniature dance floor.
Giddie Kippers was launched in April by using funding from friends and family.
After just six months trading the business now employs a team of 10, attracts around 800 visitors a week from across Manchester, and is on course to reach a first year turnover of around £250,000.
To continue this rate of growth, Katie approached banking partner Lloyds TSB Commercial for a loan package which would boost working capital and enable her to further develop the facilities.
The bank agreed a £5,000 overdraft to aid cash flow and a £5,000 loan for the business to invest in developing a comfortable, relaxing area for parents to watch their kids play.
With the funding in place, the business is also looking to expand its services to include after-school and holiday clubs and is considering opening other sites across Manchester.
Lloyds TSB Commercial recently launched its 2012 SME Charter which aims to encourage enterprise, boost access to finance and included a pledge to help 300,000 new start ups by 2012.
Katie Bowen said: “We started setting up the business two years ago, but after an 18-month wait for planning permission, we opened in the middle of a recession.
“It’s been challenging, but this area of Manchester was crying out for a facility like this, so trading has been strong from day one.
“When we saw Lloyds TSB Commercial’s Charter commitment we realised that it is very much geared up to support companies like Giddie Kippers, so we approached them with our business plan and quickly secured the funding we needed to continue growing.”
Leigh Taylor, area director for Lloyds TSB Commercial, said: “Giddie Kippers is a great example of the type of entrepreneurial and ambitious start up our 2012 Charter was designed to support.
“Katie and the team have created a business which is very much in tune with its customers, offering affordable admission fees which is crucial given the financial pressures many families are under.
“We’re looking forward to seeing the business continuing to develop and will aim to support Katie with guidance and funding throughout the economic cycle.”
Notes to editors
Lloyds TSB Commercial is a trading name of Lloyds TSB bank plc and Lloyds TSB Scotland and provides dedicated banking services for customers with an annual turnover of up to £15 million, from start-ups to established companies looking to grow. Lloyds TSB Commercial increased its lending by almost 20 per cent in 2008.Lloyds TSB was voted Bank of the Year for the fifth year running at the Real FD/ CBI FDs' Excellence Awards 2009 in recognition of the support it offers its business customers.
It has over 600,000 small business customers and has launched a three-year programme of support for SMEs.
The key points of the 2012 SME Charter are:
1. Lloyds TSB will encourage enterprise, boost access to finance and provide clearer and fairer pricing for customers – including a pledge to help 300,000 new start ups by 2012
2. Lloyds TSB will run a programme of 200 nationwide seminars every year for the next three years, to provide expert guidance and support for SMEs on starting up, employment, exporting, bidding for 2012 contracts, sustainability and finance
3. Lloyds TSB will agree to any reasonable request for competitive commercially-priced finance (whether short-term or long-term) from viable business customers
4. Lloyds TSB will not change the availability of overdrafts during the period of a customer’s agreement, as long as their accounts are kept within agreed terms and limits
5. The price of existing loans or renewed overdrafts will reflect the cost of funding. The margin Lloyds TSB charges over the cost of funding will only increase where there has been a material increase in risk (subject to a minimum 1.5 per cent over the cost of our funds). Lloyds TSB will be transparent about pricing and help customers understand the price of their facilities. Where margins increase, Lloyds TSB will provide a clear explanation of the reasons
6. Lloyds TSB’s fees will be competitively priced. And arrangement fees on loans and overdrafts will not be greater than 1.5 per cent of the overall value of the facility
For more information, please visit www.lloydstsb.com/business
This story also appeared in:
http://www.insidermedia.com/newsletters/northwest/04_february_2010_nw/index.html Back to top | More Lloyds TSB stories
