Gibson’s Cornish Ice Cream in Looe has purchased a brand new 300 litre ice cream machine worth £29,000, with help from Ignition.

The family-run business creates delicious homemade ice cream for local wholesale, cafes and restaurants, and retail catering outlets.  Initially launched in 2017 as an extension of the family’s bakery business and café, ice cream sales proved so successful that the bakery was soon sold in order to focus on the popular ice cream brand.

According to owner, Phil Gibson, the company currently uses batch freezers which are useful for smaller quantities of ice cream, but has expanded quickly and now needs an additional machine that can produce larger quantities to keep up with increasing demand. He comments:

“During the first lockdown last year, we were initially left with surplus stock that needed to be used up, so we introduced ‘Happy Fridays’ on social media, giving out free ice cream to our local followers.  That proved so popular that we continued with the Friday theme and began a home delivery service, offering one and two litre tubs to customers, delivered around Cornwall every Friday.

“As a result, we’ve become very well known in the county and have seen a substantial increase in new orders from various outlets and cafes. The new machine will help us keep up with this demand, and provides extra capacity so that we can increase production quickly when larger orders come in.”

Ignition has worked with the Gibson family since the establishment of the bakery over 20 years ago, assisting with finance throughout the years for refurbishment and equipment.  Phil Gibson adds:

“Ignition have been a great help to us over the years, providing financial assistance along the way as we have expanded and diversified.  They have always been supportive of our ventures and have helped us build on our success.

“It will be great to get the new ice cream machine up and running – we’re looking forward to a very busy summer season!”

D&V Transport, a road haulage and transport services provider based in Newton Abbot in Devon, has recently purchased a brand-new DAF truck with assistance from Ignition, bringing its fleet of trucks up to six.

The company has been supporting local contractors with tarmac laying on key highway projects, as well as supplying trucks for local quarries and new housing developments.  Neil Woodley, who started the business 35 years ago, explained that he needed to boost his fleet to keep up with demand:

“We had to close the business for two months during the first lockdown last year, but since then we have become increasingly busy, supplying trucks day and night for various contractors.  The local construction industry is booming, and we’ve won a series of new contracts that we need to fulfil.”

Neil first came to Ignition in 2019 to buy his fifth DAF truck from dealer Kingdon Wessex on a Hire Purchase finance agreement.  He was so pleased with the quick and efficient service that he returned to purchase his sixth truck earlier this year.

He anticipates that the additional truck will generate further revenue and increase productivity for the business.  At the same time, he’s recently expanded his team by taking on two new members of staff.

Neil comments:

“It’s great that despite the pandemic, we have continued to be awarded key contracts and have substantially grown the business.  Ignition have been very helpful and good to work with, which is lucky as I’ll likely be needing two further trucks by the end of the year!”

Ignition recently assisted a long-standing private customer with £210,000 finance towards a fabulous Ferrari 488 Pista.  The prestige sports car enthusiast had been looking out for the special series V8 supercar, and on finding one at the right price, he approached Ignition to help arrange the funds.

He comments:

“The team at Ignition are highly experienced in funding speciality cars and have helped me to finance many over the years. I trust them to offer good interest rates, reasonable charging fees and to always provide me with fast and efficient service.

“Despite lockdown restrictions, the service this time was as excellent as ever. My account manager was particularly accommodating. She ensured that the process was convenient and hassle-free, leaving me free to enjoy my beautiful new car!”

Newquay-based building and scaffolding company, RC Construction SW Ltd, was formed in 2013, and has become a well-established business in the local area, providing a variety of building services from brick paving, to loft conversions to new home builds. With its own scaffolding division, the company also supports local roofers and a solar power company with their scaffolding needs.

Although initially set back by the pandemic with some employees furloughed, RC Construction is now as busy as ever, working concurrently on two new build houses, as well as facing increased demand for its scaffolding services. 

A long-standing customer of Ignition, Director Andrew Taylor contacted Ignition regarding finance for additional scaffolding equipment and also requested a business loan to ease the strain on cash flow when commencing new groundworks contracts.

Ignition arranged a £25,000 Hire Purchase loan for new scaffolding equipment, through the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS) and was also able to provide a further £55,000 CBILS loan to assist with working capital.

The CBILS scheme provides 80% Government guaranteed loans up to £500,000, and asset backed loans to £750,000 with 12 months interest free. These commercial loans and some asset finance packages also benefit from a 12 month payment holiday, helping to ease business cash flow.

Andrew Taylor comments:

“It’s always a difficult time at the outset of a new contract, when there are substantial outlays but funds can’t be drawn for around six to eight weeks.  The CBILS loan will help us get these new contracts off the ground and support the growth of the business going forward.  Likewise, the new scaffolding equipment is already in use, helping us to improve our service and meet the increase in customer demand.

“Ignition have always provided us with really good service.  They respond quickly with workable solutions and minimal hassle.”