Barclays Corporate announced today it has provided a £20million package of facilities including a full rebank for The Williams Group, the high profile retailer of prestigious vehicles in the North West.
The deal was arranged by Barclays Corporate in Manchester led by Jane Khaliq, Relationship Director for Retail and Wholesale and Mark Sheldon, Business Development Director.
In 1909, the Williams Wheelwright Works founded by John Henry Williams started out repairing horse-drawn vehicles for London and North Western Railways from premises in Cornbrook, Manchester. Today, the company has expanded to ten motor dealerships across the North West including Liverpool, Manchester, Stockport, Bolton and Rochdale employing over 600 people and selling thousands of vehicles each year.
The Williams Group is enjoying considerable success and in August 2010 announced the acquisition of the business of David Holmes in Stockport, which as part of this package Barclays will also be financing.
Nick Cook, Managing Director of The Williams Group said; “Barclays Corporate has been very supportive of our requirements and will play an integral part in our plans for future growth. I have been impressed by their holistic approach which demonstrated a clear understanding of our business and our positioning within the retail sector. With the new financial structure in place, we intend to be pro-active in taking advantage of the opportunities the current climate presents.”
Jane Khaliq, Relationship Director for Retail and Wholesale at Barclays Corporate in Manchester commented,
“Our sector focus and thorough understanding of the industry and market has enabled us to structure a refinance solution that fits well with the Williams Group’s strategic plans and we look forward to helping the company expand and grow. This is one of many new to bank deals completed recently by Barclays Corporate Manchester which demonstrates our appetite for providing funding support to quality businesses in the region. Barclays is a strong UK bank with significant growth aspirations so we look forward to welcoming many more businesses to Barclays Corporate Manchester in 2011.”