Lloyds TSB Commercial Finance drives success for Dumfries-based haulage company

One of Europe’s leading haulage companies has secured a £4.5 million asset based finance facility from http://www.ltsbcf.co.uk/ to execute its expansion strategy.

Currie European Transport provides logistics, transport and warehousing services throughout the UK and across Europe to customers operating across a range of industries such as food and drink, paper and packaging, retail, manufacturing, industrial, building and electronics.

The business is headquartered in Dumfries, South West Scotland and has a depot in Coatbridge, a site in Warrington and sister operations in the Netherlands and France. It employs over 200 people and has a forecasted turnover this year of £33 million.

Established in 1977, Currie European Transport has a long-standing relationship with Lloyds TSB Commercial Finance, which is part of Lloyds Banking Group, using its hire purchase and leasing agreements to fund its fleet of 100 trucks and 475 trailers.

The firm has also been using asset based finance for a number of years and when it decided to switch from its previous provider, it approached Lloyds TSB for help with providing an integrated funding solution.

Lloyds TSB Commercial Finance devised a £4.5 million asset based finance line split between sterling and euro to cater for the firm’s overseas customers. The funding package releases the significant value of the company’s two sales ledgers and provides additional working capital to allow the group to execute its expansion strategy.

In order to protect itself against the risk of bad debts from its European customers, the company also took out Lloyds TSB Commercial Finance’s debtor protection policy.

Stephen Turner, managing director at Currie European Transport, commented: “As the economy begins to stabilise and requirements for products and services from consumers and businesses picks up, this inevitably creates higher demand for our transport and logistics services. We wanted to capitalise on these growth opportunities without putting pressure on our cash flow.

“We have been using Lloyds TSB Commercial Finance’s hire purchase and leasing agreements for many years to fund our substantial fleet and have always been impressed with the team’s professionalism and speed. Therefore, when switching from our previous asset based finance provider, it was natural that we’d ask the funder to put in place a joined-up facility capable of spanning our European operations.

“The funding from Lloyds TSB Commercial Finance unlocks the balance sheet and releases working capital at a rate to suit our growth. By also using debtor protection, we now have an additional layer of security on our income. We are in a strong position for the future and confident that the bank will continue to support our future growth plans.”

Alan MacRae, business development director at Lloyds TSB Commercial Finance, said: “Transport and logistics is a diverse sector that plays a major role in the UK and global economy and is often viewed as an important barometer of growth.

“Currie European Transport has concentrated on making its business more efficient over the past couple of years and now wants to make the most of its substantial sales ledger which contains a significant volume of debtors. We worked closely with Stephen to structure a package that suited the firm’s needs and is able to grow at a rate to suit its expansion plans.”

As part of the deal, Currie European Transport also moved its operational banking to Lloyds Banking Group.

Elaine Kerr, business development manager for Lloyds Banking Group’s Corporate Markets division, added: “We are delighted to be re-banking Currie European Transport and creating a long term working partnership as we support the business with its banking needs.

“Lloyds Banking Group is committed to playing its part in the country’s economic recovery. By developing positive and strong working relationships with companies such as Currie, and by providing invaluable guidance and advice, we are confident in our ability to do so.”

Currie European Transport has recently been awarded the Transport News European Haulier of the Year 2010 for excellence provided in the European haulage sector.