A six-figure commercial mortgage from Allica Bank has supported the UK’s leading vehicle importing company in acquiring a new £900,000 operating site to satisfy the increasing demand for its services.
Leicestershire-based My Car Import, which handles every stage of the registration and import process, wherever a vehicle is in the world, was previously operating out of three rented properties. Having grown by 70% in 2020, the company looked to acquire its own premises, and in particular a half-acre site with space for more than 300 cars, as well as an office and workshop facilities.
The deal was brokered by 2XL Commercial Finance, the commercial funding firm specialising in business and property finance. 2XL brought My Car Import and Allica Bank together due to the latter’s flexible lending approach, meaning it could achieve a higher Loan to Value (LTV) than was possible with other banks.
Jack Charlesworth, Managing Director of My Car Import, says the loan will enable the business to further expand its operations: “Although the pandemic has caused significant challenges, we have been incredibly fortunate to be able to continue to grow the business over the past 18 months. With Allica’s support we recently acquired new premises with updated workshops in Castle Donington, doubling our previous storage capacity, and giving us the room to grow the business over the coming years.”
Darren Willoughby, Managing Director at 2XL Commercial Finance, says he was impressed by Allica’s flexibility: “This was the second case we have completed with Allica bank and as a commercial brokerage with over 15 years’ experience, we are naturally sceptical when using a new bank in the market. However, I found Allica’s credit underwriting, understanding of the business, and communication to be superb throughout. Allica provided first class support to a first class client.”
While other banks would only offer a mortgage on the total building value of £900,000, Allica took into account My Car Import’s additional spend to make the site fully functional, which increased the LTV and in turn helped support the company’s cashflow.
Garry Wilkinson, Senior Business Development Manager for the Midlands at Allica Bank, says this is the latest example of Allica empowering SMEs to succeed: “Businesses that have managed to grow in spite of Brexit and the pandemic, such as My Car Import, need to be provided with the finance they need to expand their operations. We are delighted to have used our specialist experience in the Leicestershire area to facilitate the growth of an exciting, innovative company.”
Allica Bank is offering £500 million in committed SME funding this year, as well as increasing its commercial mortgage maximum loan size from £3 million to £5 million and maximum asset finance loan from £250,000 to £500,000.
With a client list that ranges from footballers to royalty, My Car Import has performed single and individual vehicle approvals on thousands of imported vehicles. And as the only UK car importer with a DVSA-approved testing facility, vehicles can leave fully registered without the need to be driven to a separate DVSA centre.