A young entrepreneur who swapped accountancy for spray painting just two years ago is setting his sights on significant growth after securing backing from Finance For Enterprise.
Luke Brumhead launched the Yorkshire Spray Company in July 2020 at the age of just 21 after becoming disillusioned with the long hours of studying towards an accountancy qualification. Feeling that he would rather pursue a more hands-on career, a chance conversation with one of his neighbours inspired him to swap his calculator for a spray gun after realising there was a shortage of businesses providing specialist spray painting services in East Yorkshire.
Luke quickly found his services to be in high demand, and since launching the Hull-based company, Yorkshire Spray has seen its workforce grow to nine members of staff within its first two years of trading. The business has built up an impressive client base, helping to transform dilapidated industrial units, adding colour to uPVC windows and doors, as well as helping homeowners to refresh kitchen units by giving them a fresh coat of paint.
The company has even secured work with rugby league club Hull Kingston Rovers, where Luke’s business gave a new lease of life to over 2000 faded stadium seats. Despite the success his company has enjoyed, Luke realised that in order to grow the business further, additional financial support would be needed, and keen to realise the company’s ambitious growth plans, Luke turned to Finance For Enterprise for help.
Working with lending manager Jeremy Meadowcroft, Luke’s business successfully secured a £75,000 loan to help Yorkshire Spray reach its growth ambitions. With funds in place, Yorkshire Spray has invested in a new spray booth, enabling the company to upgrade kitchen doors and undertake specialist painting jobs on site, as well as creating four new jobs in the business. To help the company service orders across the UK, the loan funding has also been used to purchase a fleet of vans, and Luke is hoping to double the company in size within the next three years.
Luke said: “When I left school, I decided to pursue a career in accountancy to help me build a secure career. However, the more time I spent studying, the more I realised that I didn’t see my future sat behind a desk. I didn’t really know what I wanted to do, but a chance meeting with a neighbour, who had worked for many years as an automotive sprayer, made me realise that there was a golden opportunity to combine our skills and build a successful business.
Since launching the business has grown incredibly quickly, but we increasingly found ourselves being forced to turn down work because we lacked the resources to service it, and I realised that to take the company to the next level some additional financial support would be needed. The challenge we faced was that we were a relatively new business, which needed a significant cash investment. I spoke to Jeremy and Finance For Enterprise. He came down to see the business and after seeing our plans, he helped us to secure the vital funds the business needed.
The funds Finance For Enterprise has provided have been vital to our growth. In our business, recruiting an additional member of staff doesn’t simply mean paying a salary, but investing in the vital equipment and transport to allow them to work remotely. We’ve been able to create four new jobs in the business as a direct result of the investment we’ve received, and with our services proving to be in high demand, we’re hoping to add new members of staff to our growing workforce in the future.”
Jeremy said: “Under Luke’s leadership, Yorkshire Spray has enjoyed meteoric growth, especially considering that he launched the business during the middle of a global pandemic. He was quick to recognise the potential of the business idea, and since launching the business, Yorkshire Spray has achieved a turnover in excess of £300,000 by the end of its second year of trading. However, despite the success the business has enjoyed, Luke came to realise that additional funds would be needed to scale the business further.
The loan will enable the business to meet its growing order book, create new jobs within the local economy, as well as investing in the vital equipment needed to undertake the specialist work. Luke realised that the investment would help him to scale his business more quickly, enabling Yorkshire Spray to secure larger contracts, as well as overcome the logistical challenges it faced. It’s great to see that the funding has already helped the company to create four new jobs, and I’m confident that Yorkshire Spray has a very bright future ahead of it.”
Finance For Enterprise supported Yorkshire Spray through a match funded loan provided through the Recovery Loan Scheme. The loan formed part of a £1.4 million commitment towards helping businesses based in East Yorkshire and the Humber to overcome barriers to growth, through the PIF legacy fund.
Finance For Enterprise provides a range of tailored loans, aimed at helping SMEs in Yorkshire and the Humber, the East Midlands and Lincolnshire. The company acts as a fund manager for the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund and Start Up Loans UK and provides business loans up to £250,000.
