Specialist SME lender Shawbrook Bank has delivered a £17.5m working capital solution to Stone Group, the leading provider of IT solutions to the public and private sector, to expand its offering within the private sector and the gaming equipment markets.
Stone Group has over 25 years’ experience in supplying digital transformation services, including technology hardware, IT support, data security and compliance, maintenance and complementary services to the education and wider public sector in the UK. The business also specialises in IT asset lifecycle management and secure disposal of confidential data for local government departments and law enforcement agencies through its award winning and fully accredited IT Asset Disposal (ITAD) facility.
With an increased focus on GDPR and data security in the private sector, Stone Group is growing awareness of its service offering within this market and requires the funding to grow the dedicated team who will support this. Stone Group is also keen to maximise opportunities in the gaming equipment arena, having recently acquired DinoPC, a supplier of custom PC’s. It is also looking to expand its geographical presence across the UK.
The Shawbrook team led by Oliver Wilson developed a flexible funding proposition that combined an invoice discounting facility and cashflow loan, addressing Stone Group’s multiple objectives and taking into account the seasonality of the business.
Shawbrook Bank was advised by Cadence Advisory Limited.
Richard Clay, Head of Finance at Stone Group says:
“Having established Stone Group as technology specialists in the education and wider public sector markets, we’re ready to grow our offering to the private sector and wanted to work with a funder that grasped our requirements, understood our market and appreciated the potential of this business. Oliver and the Shawbrook team responded at pace to provide an innovative funding package that did just that.”
Oliver Wilson, Managing Director, Commercial Loans, says:
“Working with specialists like Stone Group allows us to demonstrate what we do best – we’ve got a versatile product suite, a thoughtful approach to how we structure a funding package around the specific needs of a client, and a lot of sector-specific insight to draw upon. So it’s been a pleasure working with Richard and the team at Stone Group, and we’re excited to see them succeed in new markets.”