The new owner of a North East garden centre has saved six jobs after reopening its doors thanks to funding secured through HSBC by local accounting and business advisory firm, Baldwins, part of CogitalGroup.
Richard Scarr of Scarr Holdings Ltd, a former employee of Paddock Farm garden centre near Croft for eight years, purchased the business through a sealed bid, in a deal which was completed in just six weeks.
He said: “Having worked at the centre for so long, I knew it inside out and was determined to keep it alive.
“Coming to Baldwins, I knew the business’ best interests were top priority and they kept me updated every step of the way. I trust the team with my accounting and look forward to a long business relationship with them.”
Director of Banking and Finance at Baldwins’ Portobello office, Phil Empson, said: “We were working to a very short timeframe of only six weeks, so we worked closely with all parties to ensure the deal was not lost, the funding was secured, and livelihoods were saved.
“As a team, we were passionate about saving Paddock Farm and helping Richard to achieve his dream. We even volunteered to pop down to the centre to help clean up the area ready for the business’ reopening. It was a brilliant day and we were more than happy to lend a helping hand.”
Baldwins worked with Richard to manage the full process, including constructing forecasts and pulling together the funding proposal.
HSBC provided term funding to facilitate the deal and Jamie Brown, Partner at Endeavour Partnership provided legal support on the transaction.
Jamie said: “Our strapline is ‘business taken personally’ and this is a great example of a personal crusade bringing life and soul to a business.”
Craig Jiggins, Business Relationship Manager at HSBC, said: “It’s always challenging working to short timescales, however we wanted to do everything we could to ensure this business could continue to trade.
“Seeing the deal come together was exciting and we’re looking forward to seeing the business thrive and grow into the future.”
