20 May ESSEX CONSTRUCTION FIRM CONTINUING KEY PROJECTS WITH SUPPORT FROM LLOYDS BANK
An Essex construction company has been cleared to work on essential projects – such as building a new school – after securing six-figure Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS) support from Lloyds Bank.
Excel Demolition and Groundworks, headquartered in Chelmsford and with an office in London, has been a Lloyds Bank customer since it was established in 2010 and, at the start of the coronavirus outbreak, relationship manager Geoff Smith contacted managing director Daniel Robertson to offer support.
With the majority of its projects on hold as a result of current lockdown measures, Excel Demolition and Groundworks secured the loan to continue paying its 60-strong workforce while its application for the government’s Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme goes through.
Around two thirds of employees have been put on furlough. The rest have been classified as key workers on essential projects, such as laying the foundations for a new primary school in south London, which has been able to continue following clearance from the Department for Education.
Excel Demolition and Groundworks, which has an annual turnover of £8million, is a contractor offering services including construction, interiors, waterproofing and steel fabrication. One of its most recent projects was helping to restore the Old Vinyl Factory, a building complex formerly owned by British music company EMI, in Hayes.
The loan is also enabling the company to pay overheads including rent and machinery hire costs, and follows invoice factoring support earlier this year to help the firm grow its team and client base, and invest in London office space.
Daniel Robertson, managing director at Excel Demolition and Groundworks, said: “The current situation came as a shock to everybody and, in such an unprecedented set of circumstances, you do worry about how it’s going to affect your business. Our Lloyds Bank team got in touch when it all started to ask what we needed. They’ve helped us get everything together and kept us updated throughout. Thanks to their support, we’ve been able to continue with essential projects and are now confident we can navigate the ongoing disruption.”
