AGW Electrical lights up with £25,000 investment
An electrical company based in Smethwick has received £25,000 of funding to help the business expand. AGW Electrical (Services) received the funding from Black Country Reinvestment Society (BCRS), which offers companies in the region loans of up to £50,000.
AGW provides electrical inspection, installation and maintenance to clients including food retailers Subway and Greggs, and the University of Birmingham.
The company, which was founded 11 years ago, borrowed £25,000 from BCRS through the Sandwell Business Loan Fund to aid its cashflow. The £750,000 fund offers loans of between £10,000 and £50,000 and is available until 2012. Sandwell-based businesses which are having difficulty accessing finance are eligible for the funding.
Co-founder and director of AGW, Adrian Watton, said, “Business was slow between March 2009 and June 2010. We decided to be proactive and took on marketing manager Wayne Bailey in 2009 to generate new business. We also re-branded at the same time. It’s really helped.
“When the work starts to pick up, it’s vital to have the cash to service the order. The recession of the previous 18 months had drained our cash reserves. We negotiated with our wholesalers to give us longer payment terms, but it’s paying for skilled labour that’s the problem - you need money in the bank to pay salaries.
"We employ ten people, and have sub contractors as direct labour when we need them. BCRS turned the loan around very quickly, which enabled us to keep going.”
