Air Accessories

Business Loans Case Study

Left to right: David Ward and Melanie Reynolds, Finance Yorkshire with Nick McKee, Air Accessories

Air Accessories is an established Sheffield pneumatics firm that almost doubled its turnover in five years under the leadership of Nick McKee, from £600,000 to almost £1m – despite the global recession.

The Company

The business was established in 1967, and has been trading from Escafeld Works, Meersbrook Park Road, since 1980. Today, it is the UK’s only manufacturer of bespoke Bosch non-standard pneumatic cylinders and the largest independent distributor of Bosch Rexroth pneumatics.

It supplies the steel, automotive, education and pharmaceutical industries, with blue chip companies such as Bentley, British Aerospace and Boeing within its client portfolio.

The Challenge

Air Accessories wanted to increase its stock of commonly used pneumatic products in order to reach a wider market. It wanted to recruit additional staff and further update its website offering.

Finance Yorkshire Involvement

Finance Yorkshire provided a loan of £30,000. Nick, who had received funding from Finance Yorkshire before, said: “Even when you run a successful company like ours it is very difficult to get gap funding, which is essential if we are to keep up with demand.

“This is where Finance Yorkshire comes in. They make a difference by investing in companies enabling them to develop and expand, creating opportunities for additional jobs in Yorkshire.”

The Investment Rationale

Finance Yorkshire already knew that Air Accessories was a robust business with a strong heritage. Having been more than satisfied with the outcome of previous investments, and the growth recorded by the business, it agreed to invest again.

Melanie Reynolds, a Portfolio Executive at Finance Yorkshire’s Business Loan team, said: “Finance Yorkshire has been working alongside Air Accessories since 2008 during which time we have seen them experience some very strong growth, and overcome a global recession.

“This is a strong example of an ambitious and well-run Yorkshire business who we want to see succeed.”

Future Expectations

The future for Air Accessories is forecast to be one of continued steady growth in turnover and profitability.

Note: this case study is from Finance Yorkshire’s previous fund. Read more about Finance Yorkshire

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