Bannachra Developments

The challenge

Like many café and bar owners, Bannachra Developments director Wilson Blair was keen to expand beyond his established consumer base. He had identified a nearby business with a retiring owner and wanted to take it over as a way of increasing his ability to bring in more customers.

The solution

Wilson needed a flexible and simple finance solution that could quickly be raised to meet his ambitions. He explained: ‘For instance, we considered the option of taking out a commercial mortgage on the property and then an unsecured loan on top of that. However, it was difficult finding someone to take the mortgage on the property.’

That is when he came LendingCrowd, which offered him a more bespoke financing method. Once registered with our platform and after working with our in-house Credit Team, Bannachra Developments raised its target sum of £93,600 with a five-year term and could push through with its plans.

The outcome

Wilson has been able to acquire the other business and begin his expansion plans.

‘Right now, we are doing well. We only just got the keys to the property but we are already starting to refit it,’ he said. ‘We are also applying for permits to extend the property. At the moment, the property faces out onto the waterfront so we are hoping to build a conservatory onto that. We are hoping to be finished with the refurb by the beginning of next year [Wilson spoke to LendingCrowd in December 2016] so then the business can grow throughout 2017.’