Pallet Plus secures working capital finance deal with Satander
Colchester based business Pallet Plus, which collects and delivers palletised freight and goods in the UK, Ireland and Europe, has agreed a working capital overdraft facility with Santander UK and the government’s Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS) to support the business during the coronavirus pandemic.
The company, which is a member of The nationwide Pallet Network – TPN, provides tailored transport services which have enabled the movement of vital goods throughout the pandemic. This includes the collection of valuable supplies locally, such as PPE, medical consumables and ventilators, for delivery to the NHS and care homes, as well as goods to supermarkets. Pallet Plus also helped to deliver a donation of Easter eggs given by confectionary company Mars to NHS hospitals throughout the UK.
The overdraft facility provided by Santander UK has been put in place to reduce the impact on their business of potential losses caused by an increase in staff sickness or a decline in trading. The company has 48 employees and a fleet of 28 vehicles.
Gary Rowe, managing director at Pallet Plus, said: “The facility provided by Santander will allow us to continue our position as an essential part of the country’s supply chain, while protecting our employees’ jobs and insulating ourselves from fluctuating cashflow. While we are confident in the resilience of our business, we have taken the responsible step of mitigating the effects of temporary fluctuations in demand to avoid an impact on either our staff or business continuity for our customers.”
Stephen Clements, relationship director at Santander UK, commented: “Pallet Plus is fulfilling a critical role to help keep the supply chain moving and getting vital equipment and goods to the NHS and care workers, as well as supermarkets. This facility will help ensure the business can continue to provide these vital services, despite the uncertainties caused by coronavirus.”
