Lutterworth hosiery manufacturer invests £300k in new machinery to help keep up with demand

Added by Love Business East Midlands | 18 July 2016

UPDATED: 18 July 2016

Ultimate Finance has provided a £300k asset finance facility to Lutterworth manufacturer, Pretty Legs Hosiery, to enable it to invest in new state-of-the-art machinery so it can keep up with rapidly increasing demand for its Saphena-branded compression stockings, which are designed to help prevent deep vein thrombosis (DVT).

                                                          Simon Moult of Ultimate Asset Finance (left) with Richard Tudor of Pretty Legs Hosiery

The company is on target to manufacture 2.8m pairs of compression stockings this year and is forecasting 3.6m next year with 7.5m pairs being produced within five years.

The impressive growth is not only being fuelled by increased demand from both the UK healthcare and retail sectors, it has recently received FDA approval to sell into the American market.

To fulfil the orders the company has taken delivery of additional machinery from Italy, which has been paid for by refinancing their existing machinery through Ultimate Finance, which is also based in Lutterworth.

The asset finance facility also raised additional capital to assist with a management buyout.

The Saphena compression stockings have been developed over the last 10 years by teams from the University College London’s academic vascular unit, Pretty Legs Hosiery and UCL BioMedical.

They were originally designed for the medical sector but have since been adjusted to suit a wider audience. They are now also used to provide relief from soreness and swelling for those on their feet all day, as well as pregnant women. In addition they are increasingly popular with frequent travellers who want to minimise the risk of DVT which can occur when sitting in one position for long periods of time.

Speaking about the investment in new machinery, managing director of Pretty Legs Hosiery, Richard Tudor, said,

“With the growth we are experiencing I was amazed how difficult it was to access funds from the bank. Although we were three quarters of the way to sorting out the finance deal it was taking far too long to conclude.

In contrast, Ultimate Finance was extremely flexible and quickly calculated that we had plenty of capital in our existing machinery which we could use to buy the new machine."

Speaking about the deal, Simon Moult, regional director of Ultimate Asset Finance, said

“SMEs are continuing to be frustrated by banks that are not willing to back businesses even though their order books are full, the business is growing impressively and security can be provided against the loan.

Pretty Legs Hosiery is a case in point. Richard and his team have built up a fantastic business over many years which has a worldwide reputation for quality. We had no hesitation in moving quickly to support the company to enable it to become a worldwide leader in sector.”

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