BikeBiz Bicycle and cycling retail news
Rotherham-based Planet X has secured a £3.225 million funding package through Santander UK.
In 2020, Planet X’s 50 employees acquired the business from its founders and set up an Employee Owned Trust. The business has now moved its banking to Santander UK and is accessing a range of facilities to support its international growth plans.
The company has predominately UK-based customers, with around 73% of its turnover coming from UK based sales. It is planning to increase its international sales from its current levels of 22% of turnover from Europe and 5% from the rest of the world. Santander UK is supporting the business with a £1.5 million trade finance facility, alongside a range of additional support totalling £3.225 million.
As an e-commerce retailer, Planet X has been well placed to serve customers during the pandemic. The Santander team will continue to work closely with Planet X as it increases its online sales capacity to help meet the heightened demand both in the UK and internationally. The £1.5 million trade finance facility will allow Planet X to drive international growth.
“The Santander team is excellent, its understanding of our Employee Owned Trust business model gives us great confidence and adds commercial value to our decision making,” said Trevor Parker, Planet X director. “By listening and understanding our concerns, they were able to present practical solutions to overcome them.
“With this funding, we can react to the changing market, both in terms of Brexit and COVID-19, and our supply chain is now extended.”
Andrew Russell, relationship director at Santander UK, added: “Planet X has a proven track record in the cycling world of delivering quality bikes and accessories at competitive prices and continues to be a great success story.
“We’re delighted to be chosen as their banking partner and look forward to working with them to realise their growth strategy and expand into new territories.”
Read the February issue of BikeBiz below:
