Caravan manufacturers Willerby eye expansion following refinance deal

The business is headquartered in Hull and employs around 1,000 in the region. Celebrating its 70th anniversary this year, it enjoys more than a third of the total UK market share for static holiday homes and has recently expanded its showroom network into Scotland.

The deal, supported by Lloyds Bank Commercial Banking, will allow them to persue expansion and new product development. It includes £10m of senior debt alongside working capital facilities, and has been led by the bank’s Strategic Debt Finance and Yorkshire Mid Markets team. It can now manufacture and supply around 7,000 units annually to national and independent holiday park operators, also increasingly to private customers via dealers and exports to the global market. In the business’s most recent financial results to October 2015, turnover increased to £124.5m, up from £101.6m for the same period the year before.

Susan Allan, Finance Director at Willerby Holiday Homes, said: “Our long-standing relationship with the team at Lloyds Bank has been an invaluable part of our success.

“As a business in the heart of East Yorkshire, it is important to us that our banking partner understands the geographical context we operate within, and the bank’s local ‘on the ground’ expertise demonstrates their clear commitment to supporting regional businesses such as ours.”

Kate Grimoldby, director at Lloyds Bank Commercial Banking, said: “The holiday homes market is enjoying a surge in confidence, thanks to an affluent and growing customer base and increased appetite for domestic tourism. Buoyed by such positive market dynamics, and with new funding in place, the business is in a strong position to continue its growth story in its landmark 70th year and realise its ambitions.”