Arbuthnot Commercial Asset Based Lending (ACABL) has provided a flexible £2m funding facility for Blink Group (Blink), a leading multidisciplinary creative content agency, as a foundation for further growth.
The group’s incumbent bank had announced its intention to exit the market, leaving the management team with the need to secure a new long-term funding package in short order.
Arbuthnot Commercial ABL stepped up to structure a flexible solution, which combined a revolving invoice discounting line and a Recovery Loan Scheme facility, to provide a liquidity cushion, allowing the business to access both working and growth capital.
Andrew Rutherford, commercial director at ACABL, said: “We are always pleased to have an opportunity to support the creative industries in the UK by providing flexible facilities that will keep up with their dynamic pace of growth.
“The demand for engaging visual content is rising rapidly, so revolving working capital solutions are perfectly suited to ambitious businesses such as Blink Group to help them drive scale.
“Focused deal execution and tenacity are important factors in the majority of transactions. Here, once again, it has proved essential.”
Blink Group was founded in 2006 by Steven and Emma Livesey.
While the Group began with photography, today it is also home to design, CGI imagery, and video & editorial teams across multiple locations, including three photography studios across the North West and a studio in China.
Emma Livesey, founder and director of Blink Group, added: “Arbuthnot’s facility has been instrumental in putting the group in a position where it can scale quickly to meet demand from existing and new clients.
“During the funding process, we received an invitation to tender for a substantial contract, which we won.
“That made it imperative for us to commence refurbishment work and invest in new equipment immediately.
“Arbuthnot Commercial ABL’s team were accessible and kept the momentum going at all times – a major plus for a deal that had become so time-critical.”
