Cold Store Specialists ISD Secures new Funding Support

Gloucester-headquartered ISD, the leading cold store specialist contractor, has secured a £2.5million funding package from the Gloucester office of Lloyds Bank Commercial Banking to enable the business to continue its growth and expansion.

The lending facility has been provided using funding from the Government-backed Funding for Lending Scheme (FLS), which enables businesses to take advantage of reduced borrowing costs in order to boost their growth plans and support future investment.

Established in 1946, ISD is a trading division of The P&M Group and is the market-leading designer, manufacturer and installer of cold stores, food processing facilities, clean rooms, data centres, and distribution centres and has a diverse customer base of blue chip organisations located mainly across the UK. The business is also a provider of choice in fire control installations, either as part of larger projects or as individual contracts, making ISD a popular single source specialist supplier to main contractors.

ISD’s sister division, Cold Store Maintenance specialises in the repair, modification and servicing of doors, walls, ceilings and floors within cold room and food processing facilities. Clients include temperature controlled distribution, supermarkets, refrigeration engineers and food manufacturing companies.

The multi-million-pound funding package from Lloyds Bank has enabled ISD to expand its international customer reach and current service proposition to existing customers. As a result, the business has recently secured two significant new business contracts with major global corporates.

ISD’s parent company P&M Group has an annual turnover of £22.5million and expects this figure to increase considerably as a result of its recent new contract wins. Currently employing more than 80 people, the business is now looking to recruit an additional six members of staff following its recent success.

P&M Group has been a customer of Lloyds Bank for more than 60 years, with the bank providing on-going facilities to help drive the business’s development and growth plans.

Andy Moon, CEO at P&M Group Limited commented: “Our business has grown considerably over recent years, and securing two new significant contract wins in such quick succession represents our commitment and drive to expand our customer reach on an international scale.

“Having worked with Lloyds Bank’s Gloucester-based team for a number of years, they completely understand our banking requirements and are fully supportive of our future ambitions. Despite widespread speculation around the difficulties of raising finance in the current economic climate, they have worked closely with us to provide additional funding, reflecting their belief in our business model and development strategy.”

Mark Robinson, Relationship Director at Lloyds Bank Commercial Banking in Gloucester, said: “Despite the challenging economic environment, ISD has continued to thrive in recent years and is highly regarded as a specialist in the large-scale refrigeration equipment market.

“Headed by a talented and highly-respected management team that has continued to drive growth and profitability, the business typifies the type of business that is helping to drive the UK’s economic recovery and we are committed to working with them to provide the backing they need to drive their expansion using a range of funding options, including Funding for Lending.”