Jarrow firm secures coronavirus loan from Yorkshire Bank

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02/06/2020

Jarrow-based AAP Metal Fabrication Services has secured funding from the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS) through Yorkshire Bank, part of Virgin Money UK, to offset lost revenue due to the economic impact of Covid-19.

The company, which provides sheet metal and steel fabrication services, approached Yorkshire Bank for support when one of its biggest customers, the Nissan car factory in Sunderland, suspended operations ahead of the official lockdown in March 9.

Several other customers subsequently shut down when lockdown came into force, leading to a significant drop in orders for the metal fabricator and a large volume of outstanding work-in-progress.

Paul Bradley, managing director at AAP Metal Fabrication Services said:

“An initial three-week lockdown has turned into a much longer period and we’ve experienced a shortfall in sales for March, as well as zero sales for April and May. At the point of lockdown, we had a significant volume of orders in progress which is work we’ve been unable to convert into revenue.”

The CBILS funding will be used to pay ongoing business costs, including utilities, rent and rates. The majority of the firm’s 35-strong workforce has been placed on furlough until production can return to business-as-usual levels.

CBILS is a UK government initiative facilitated by participating banks to provide financial support to SMEs that are losing revenue, and seeing their cashflow disrupted, due to the Covid-19 outbreak. Under the scheme, existing Yorkshire Bank business customers can borrow £10,000 to £5 million.

Paul Bradley said:

“We’ve been banking with Yorkshire Bank for more than a decade and it’s always been a straightforward relationship. We’ve never had any reason to approach them for additional support until the coronavirus pandemic hit and I have been extremely impressed with their response. They immediately understood our situation and facilitated a quick turnaround. We had the funds in our account within a week. The financial support has given us some security and taken a load off my mind during these uncertain times.”

Sean Clark, relationship manager at Yorkshire Bank said:

“The manufacturing sector has felt the full force of the economic impact of coronavirus as production for many products has come to a standstill and employees have been furloughed. We understand the impact this has on small businesses who are part of the supply chain and how vital cashflow is for survival. We want to ensure our customers survive the current crisis and we can offer a range of measures to help navigate the financial difficulties.”