Bike business on track for success thanks to a specialist business loan

A Yorkshire cycle shop owner is taking his business up a gear after a £227,000 cash injection from specialist lender Together.

Jon Dean, who owns CycleStreet in Layerthorpe, York, struck the finance deal to repay a current commercial mortgage with a high-street bank – saving him thousands of pounds in interest charges a month.

It allowed him to pay off the original commercial mortgage he held with his bank and re-pay a number of high-interest business loans he’d taken out while setting up his CycleStreet shop.

The keen mountain biker, who set up the bicycle sales and repair shop eight years ago and also owns a property management company, said the re-financing through Together will safeguard its future – and kick start business growth.

Mr Dean said: “I’d struggled to get the loan I needed from a mainstream bank, because of the way my two companies are structured, and I was beginning to feel it wasn’t going to be possible.

“However, I was introduced to Together who agreed a finance package that meant we could clear our existing mortgage with the bank and improve our cash flow. We’re now ten per cent up on our business forecasts and looking to build even further in the long term, so everything’s heading in the right direction.”

The deal was introduced by commercial finance expert Charlotte Davison from BTG Advisory, a division of Begbies Traynor Group plc, which helps Yorkshire businesses find alternative funding for expansion, working capital or new equipment.

After careful consideration of his situation, Together agreed to provide the finance for Bitpoint Ltd, Mr Dean’s property company, with the 15-year loan secured against the bike shop premises. It will be used to consolidate and expand the CycleStreet business.

Barry Dillon, regional development director for Yorkshire at Together, said: “This was a particularly complicated case which involved re-financing the customer’s original loan away from the high street bank to free up working capital for Mr Dean to take his business to the next stage.

“We were pleased to provide the loan after visiting CycleStreet, and seeing what a popular business it is with the cycling-mad public in York, North and East Yorkshire. It will save him thousands in the short-term and put the business on a firm footing, allowing for expansion in the future.”

Charlotte Davison of BTG Advisory, based in Sheffield, said: “Having reviewed CycleStreet’s situation, we could immediately see that the high interest loans it had taken out were having a negative impact on day-to-day working capital. By joining forces with Together, with whom we enjoy a strong relationship, we were able to restructure the firm’s finances, significantly reducing its monthly outgoings. This long-established and well respected York business is now on a more stable footing to expand and prosper.”