A Stoke-on-Trent business that is renowned for providing honest and high quality service and repairs has stepped up a gear thanks to the help they received from a local Business Loan Fund.

Foxley Garage, established in 2013, and run by husband and wife team Gareth & Deborah Price, received a loan from the Stoke-on-Trent Business Loan fund which was specifically created to help Potteries-based businesses which are unable to obtain finance from mainstream lenders. The loan they received helped with the purchase of new equipment along with employing another full-time local mechanic.

The Stoke-on-Trent Business Loan Fund is run in conjunction with Stoke-on-Trent City Council and managed by BCRS Business Loans. It is part-financed by the European Regional development Fund and loans of £10,000 to £50,000 are made available to viable local businesses.

Deborah Price said, “At first we were terrified of approaching another lender for finance as we hadn’t had much luck with the banks but as soon as I met the team at BCRS that feeling quickly dissipated.

“Our loans officer, Zoe Wilkinson, believed in us right from the beginning. When you witness a total stranger becoming absorbed in your business and believing you can do it, it spurs you on even more. I am so grateful to the Stoke Business Loan fund as this loan has not only energised us as to what we can potentially achieve in the long term but it has already had an immediate effect on the business.”

Foxley Garage, situated in Milton, currently serves mainly private individual clients in the Stoke on Trent, Newcastle and surrounding areas. However with the cash injection received from the loan fund the duo will now look to tender for additional local business contracts.

Gareth Price said: “Our plans for the future of the garage are vast and we believe that we should try and share our success and knowledge with the local talent looking to enter the mechanic trade.

“We have recently taken on a female apprentice mechanic and will also have two new part- time business traineeships, courtesy of Haywood Academy, start with us in September. It is a very exciting time and we look forward to what the future has in store for us all at Foxley Garage.”

Paul Kalinauckas, Chief Executive of BCRS, said: “BCRS is all about unlocking potential. As a business fund, BCRS has a more flexible approach to lending. We look at the business and the people running it first, because our security is the quality of the operation itself. I’m delighted that Foxley Garage will continue to provide Stoke residents with the high level of service that they have become accustomed to.”

Stoke-on-Trent City Council’s executive director of Place, David Sidaway, said:

“Access to affordable sources of finance is one of the vital ingredients to achieving successful business growth, and the Stoke-on-Trent Business Loan Fund is a lifeline to new and growing businesses in the city. We know that much of the job creation the city needs will come from SMEs and start-ups and it’s therefore vitally important that we work with them and help to provide financial products which suit their specific needs.”