The Rogers Group are Commercial Decorators based in Plymouth, working on grand-scale decorating projects since 2004.  Their clients include luxury hotels, the NHS, museums, universities and new build developments, as well as some of the UK’s largest retail chains.

Ignition has helped the Rogers Group to grow swiftly and significantly over the last 6 years, by providing finance for its expanding fleet of commercial vehicles.  The company recently purchased an additional 12 Citroen vans through hire purchase with Ignition, bringing its current fleet up to 22, and are looking to extend this by an additional 7 vans to help with the launch of a new affiliated business services venture in the near future.

Managing Director, Steve Rogers comments:

“Quite simply, dealing with Ignition is straightforward and hassle-free.  The team are easy to reach on the phone and they always respond quickly, providing a good service without hidden costs or complications.”

One Point Survey Equipment are survey and safety equipment experts, based in Verwood in Dorset and Exeter in Devon.  They handle the sale, hire, calibration and repair of survey equipment for the construction industry, which can be anything from cross line lasers and GPS systems to cable and gas detectors.

The company is constantly updating its hire fleet to ensure customers have the latest technology to support their site applications, and for the last three years, finance for these assets has been provided by Ignition.

Recently, One Point purchased an additional six Leica TS16 Robotic Total Stations for its hire fleet, worth around £130k. Suitable for all surveying, robotic and monitoring applications, the total stations use high-precision measurement technology to provide advanced and intelligent signal processing, and superior distance measurement.

Managing Director, Darren Lawrence, comments:

“Leica Total Stations are very popular with our customers as they are straightforward for a single engineer to operate, thereby increasing productivity and reducing time spent on site.

“We’re finding that as the construction sector grows with increasing investment, demand for our hire equipment is also increasing.  We’re constantly expanding our hire fleet to keep up with demand.

“Fortunately, the Ignition team is always available to help us.  All it takes is a simple phone call, and we know a decision will be made and finances arranged swiftly.

“We have been so impressed that we offer our customers finance via Ignition too.  Their professionalism and focus on customer service fits well with our business.”

Hotelier, Karen Ridley, has owned and run a popular country hotel for more than 15 years. The Snooty Fox, in Looe in Cornwall, is well known for its peaceful, rural setting and excellent breakfasts. Over the years, Ignition has helped to support the business by providing finance for general refurbishments, fit-out and equipment.

Having enjoyed success with the Snooty Fox, Karen and her family recently set their hearts on a second venture, taking over the lease of the Harbour Moon Inn in East Looe.  Sitting right on the harbour with stunning views across the coastal town, the Harbour Moon Inn certainly seemed a viable business opportunity with plenty of potential

The Harbour Moon was in need of some refurbishment and building works, as well as updated kitchen equipment, but when Karen approached her bank for a loan, they were unwilling to help.

Karen comments: “ I had an excellent track-record, had put together a strong business plan, and could demonstrate that the Inn was in a popular, central location and likely to be successful.  But despite this, their lending criteria was so strict and inflexible, that we didn’t quite fit their profile.

“Although we’ve been with the same bank for many years, it felt as if they didn’t know me or my business at all.  The business managers change so frequently; we’ve had at least five since we started out.”

As a result, Karen turned to Ignition for advice, and got in touch with Director, Steve Hunt, who has been her contact for over a decade.  Steve was able to put together a bespoke finance plan for the business which combined asset finance with a business loan.  Tangible assets such as kitchen equipment and a new EPOS system were financed through a standard Hire Purchase plan, while other costs such as painting and decorating that would not qualify for asset finance, were covered by a competitive Business Loan.

Steve Hunt comments:

“We’ve known Karen and the team at the Snooty Fox for years, and could see that this new business venture was an excellent opportunity.  It appears that certain sectors fall in and out of favour with the banks, which can be very frustrating and baffling for small businesses with good prospects.

“By looking carefully at Karen’s needs and offering her a package with a combination of financial services, we’ve helped her achieve her goal, and are proud to be supporting a sound local business.”

Karen adds:

“Steve at Ignition is now my first point of call for financial support.  The team there are truly championing independent businesses and will judge each one individually on its merits, rather than resorting to a tick-box exercise.”

Karen took over the Harbour Moon Inn at the beginning of the year and is already ahead of budget and doing a roaring trade.  We’ll raise a pint to that!

Atlas Surveys is a survey company with offices in Newport in Wales and Wotton under Edge in Gloucestershire.  It undertakes land surveys, building surveys and hydrographic surveys locally and across the country.

Recently, the company purchased a brand new state-of-the-art laser scanner from Opti-cal Survey Equipment, with a three-year Hire Purchase plan from Ignition.

The GeoSLAM ZEB-REVO  is a hand-held revolving laser-scanner which can record more than 40,000 measurement points per second whilst on the move.

Justin Taylor, owner of Atlas Surveys comments:

“This is the first time we’ve considered using finance to help purchase equipment, and we’re very pleased with the result.  Surveying equipment is expensive, but this way the cost is spread over three years, and we don’t need to worry about servicing, as all servicing costs are included.

“Ignition were helpful and approachable from the outset, and very quick to make a decision and provide the funds. Our new laser-scanner is already benefitting the business. Measurements we previously had to undertake manually, are now done automatically, reducing the amount of time we need to spend on site by half!  As a result, we can take on more site visits per day.

“At the end of the finance term, we can decide whether to keep the kit or replace it with new equipment.  In an industry where technology is moving on very quickly, it’s reassuring to have this option.  We currently own six major pieces of equipment and are considering switching all of these to a finance plan in the future.”

Midland Survey Ltd is one of the largest surveying companies in the UK, offering topographical surveys, underground utility mapping, measured building surveys, and 3D services.  The company is based in Southam in Warwickshire, with additional offices in Stroud, Horsham, Milton Keynes and Leeds, providing services to clients across the length and breadth of the country.

For many years, Midland Survey Ltd have been using Opti-cal Survey Equipment as their main equipment supplier. Opti-cal provides precision measurement technology and instrumentation such as Lasers and Levels, Total Stations, GPS kits and state-of-the-art 3D Laser Scanners.

In 2015, Opti-cal introduced Midland Survey Ltd to Ignition, to assist in providing competitive finance plans for the purchase of new specialist equipment.  Since then, Ignition has taken on all of Midland Survey’s asset finance requirements, including its fleet of more than 40 vehicles.

Midland Survey’s company founder and Group Managing Director, Duncan Rone-Clarke, comments:

“We have been impressed with Ignition’s ability to provide fast and competitive finance deals, and have moved all our financial requirements, including vehicle finance, over to Ignition.”