A booming Worcester based business has doubled its turnover after securing finance from the Worcestershire Business Loan Fund.
Professional Call Minders Ltd, a telephone answering service provider that was established over 12 years ago, required funding to install a high-tech call management system and employ 5 additional telephone assistants.
Sarah Preece, Managing Director of Professional Call Minders, said: “I had been trying to access finance from traditional lenders for over six months before finding the Worcestershire Business Loan Fund. Thankfully they were able to look past the ups and downs I had in building the business and saw the strength of my business plan.”
The Worcestershire Business Loan Fund is run and managed by not-for-profit lender BCRS Business Loans in conjunction with Worcestershire County Council. It offers loans from £10,000 to £50,000 and has been especially designed to support viable businesses in most market sectors.
“My aim has always been to improve the level of customer service experienced over the telephone, Sarah continued.
“Over 250 businesses currently outsource their telephone answering service to us from all market sectors – from a doctor’s surgery to roofers – but this number is growing all the time.
“Every member of our team oozes personality and it was this trait that also stood out at BCRS Business Loans. They were fast, personable, efficient and went out of their way to understand my business and its needs.
“The loan fund was brilliant; I was at rock bottom when I approached them. It also helped me secure match funding from a council grant scheme, Business Accelerator.”
Angie Preece, Loan Officer at BCRS Business Loans, said: “As soon as we met Sarah and saw the business plan and forecasts for ourselves, we knew that Professional Call Minders had a bright future ahead. We don’t base our decisions on computerised credit scores. Instead we’re committed to providing a relationship based approach to lending to look at the quality and viability of the business itself.”
Lorna Jeynes, Business Growth Manager at Worcestershire County Council, said: “Sarah is a great ambassador for small business and her story is just fantastic. It’s always inspiring to see people following their growth ambitions and with the Loan from BCRS alongside a Growth Grant from Worcestershire County Council, Sarah has been able to modernise her systems, increase office space and take on an additional staff. This is at the heart of what we do, with the Council being committed to being ‘Open for Business’ and supporting the prosperity of the County”.
For more information and details about the Worcestershire Business Loan Fund, please follow this link.
To learn more about the Business Accelerator programme, please follow this link.