LOANS

Loan applications inevitably involve the preparation of a business plan to explain how much the business wants, what it will spend it on, and how this will be paid back.

Flex Fitness and Raw Power Hussein Shah

We assisted Hussein to raise finance to open two gyms in North London involving loans of over £60,000. We also helped in researching projects in the leisure industry and property development. In addition we advised on marketing and operational management issues.

Britannia Games Limited Mehmet Hussein

Our relationship began in 1994 and continues today. We have helped this company write business plans, win awards, develop products, find new markets, handle changes in strategic direction, and personnel issues. Britannia started with football related card games including “Soccer Master” for Euro 96, and went on to pioneer the development of board games based on TV series, starting with “Supermarket Sweep”, and including shows such as “Family Fortunes”, “Play Your Cards Right”, and “Catch Phrase”.

We helped the company move away from reliance solely on the retail market through agents Upstarts, to develop business through catalogues via the Sales Partnership.

Our activities included manning stands at both Olympia for the International Toy Fair and Harrogate Gift Fairs. We advised Mehmet on a move into the healthcare market and the establishment of Britannia Healthcare.

In recent years, the company has developed DVD games, and products can be found in many retailers at Christmas, including Marks & Spencer, John Lewis, Toys’R’Us, British Home Stores, Littlewoods’ catalogue and Argos.

Melanie & Co

This is a firm of solicitors for whom we wrote business plans and obtained loans, to move from rented to freehold premises, and take on an additional partner and staff. The practice was involved with welfare law and immigration.

M1 Express Minicabs

Festus Obafusi and Rosa Shola Our work with Festus goes back to 1994 when we helped him raise £45,000 from a bank and business angel to buy two minicab offices from the firm he worked for as a minicab driver. He went on to build the business to over 30 drivers. We helped him bid for and win a local authority passenger transport contract, which added further turnover and profit to the business.

In 2004 we assisted him in selling the business for £70,000 to his Operations Manager. This involved us writing a business plan and raising finance of over £30,000 for Rosa Shola in order to enable her to purchase the business from Mr Obafusi. Festus himself has started a new business in Nigeria for which we helped him raise finance.

This involves a chicken hatchery and the rearing of young birds to sell on to growers. Over the last 10 years we have helped the company in negotiating a capital repayment holiday during one of their loans, and assisting with employment issues, marketing and operational issues.

Amazing Beverage Company ABC

Horace Miller ABC is a manufacturer and wholesaler of soft drinks, targeting the Afro Caribbean community and was one of our first clients. We helped Horace find premises so he could relocate from Mile End to Tottenham and arranged finance to cover the new rent deposit and the cost of moving and commissioning equipment.

 Later we arranged for a student under STEP (Shell Training and Enterprise Programme), to carry out market research on what potential customers thought of the range of existing products and products in development.

Other work included helping with the purchase of a second hand forklift truck, a replacement van, developing strategic alliances for distribution, advising on staff recruitment and organising a free web site.

Air Punjab

We worked on the development of a business model and business plan for this new airline venture to take passengers from the UK Midlands to Amritsar.