Founded in 2018, Bisham Foods Limited supplies dairy products to the UK market which are healthier than standard cheese and free from cholesterol. With new contracts flowing in, the Director set out to find a funding partner that could help his business on its growth trajectory by providing the right kind of funding and support.
Bisham Foods’ Fit Cheese is the only cheese in the UK that is made with skimmed milk and vegetable oil rather than milk and cream. With the cost of dairy ingredients having already increased considerably this year, Bisham Foods’ innovative manufacturing process saw the business’ popularity rise to new heights.
MD Steve Wheatley explains, “Fit Cheese is cholesterol free and has 80% less saturated fat than standard cheddar, but it still retains similar calcium and protein levels, making a great alternative for people living with high cholesterol and consumers of all ages who want to maintain a healthier lifestyle and diet. The cheese is made to a traditional cheddar making process but at a lesser cost as it does not involve any cream, which means suppliers haven’t had to suffer the big increases passed on by full fat cheese makers”.
Having already won an impressive contract with a leading community convenience store, the business has now entered negotiations with top supermarket chains in the UK and France which have shown an interest in retailing Fit Cheese. With increasing production volumes, reached out to brokerage TSF Finance to find a funding solution that could provide the cashflow certainty needed to carry on with their accelerating growth.
TSF Finance’s Stephen Johnson introduced Bisham Foods to Vinnie Dobie, Regional Director at Ultimate Finance, who took the time to get to know the business and its ambitions. Vinnie says, “When we were first introduced to the Directors and Bisham Foods I straight away understood his vision and why Fit Cheese has been such a hit with customers, so I was proud to be able to play a part in their journey. We first looked at using Asset Finance to refinance some of their existing equipment and raise capital to be used to start the manufacturing process for the new orders, but it soon became clear that there was a huge funding potential to be tapped into through combining existing assets such as equipment and receivables, so we went further into the business model and their requirements to look at a fully tailored Structured Finance facility that would raise as much liquidity as possible”.
Using the funder’s 20 years’ expertise in delivering tailored and flexible funding lines Vinnie structured a facility consisting of a £26k Asset Finance line, £75k Trade Finance solution, £250k Invoice Finance line and an additional £25k through a Cashflow Loan, raising a total of £376k and providing sufficient capital to deliver the growth in orders and take on more contracts.
Reflecting on the funding process, Steve comments, “Vinnie made what is clearly a very complex funding structure seem so simple thanks to his expertise and great approach to service. The finance we were able to raise just using our existing assets will be a great source of support as we continue to grow, and we have already started discussions with Vinnie and the team at Ultimate Finance for further funding to acquire an additional plant as orders keeps coming in”.
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