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Industrial Equipment

Business Finance

Ryetec Industrial Equipment Ltd is a Yorkshire-based manufacturer and supplier of specialist machinery for a wide range of sectors – from agriculture and amenity to forestry, golf courses, estates and local authorities. With a reputation for quality and innovation, Ryetec has carved out a strong position in its market.

With a rapidly expanding manufacturing business & cashflow a constant problem, our bank wouldn’t offer further borrowing, expensive short-term loans seemed the only answer. Fortus took time to understand our business and requirements, presented our story to lenders and had 4 offers within 2 weeks, saving us £20,000 per month in debt repayment.

Over the past two to three years, the business has experienced significant growth, fuelled by the recent development of their manufacturing capacity. Sales were up, profitability was strong, and the future looked promising. But like many growing businesses, the path hadn’t been without its challenges.

That growth had been funded through a combination of reinvested profits and short-term loans. And while the business was in a healthy position overall, the high repayments on those short-term loans were starting to restrict cash flow – making it harder to invest further in their own success.

Fortunately, Ryetec owned its trading premises – a site valued at £1.4m – with just a small £250k loan secured against it. That opened the door for a smarter, more sustainable funding solution.

The Fortus approach

As an existing Fortus client, we already knew Ryetec well – and we had access to a lot of the key financial information required to move quickly. That saved time and hassle for the client, allowing them to stay focused on running the business while we got to work behind the scenes.

We started by carrying out a thorough review of their recent performance and future plans. As well as understanding where they’d been, we took time to understand where they were heading – which included ambitious plans to expand their existing premises by extending the current buildings and adding new storage units on-site.

With a clear view of the business, we pulled together a detailed lending proposal and went out to market to find the right funding partner. After engaging with a number of lenders, we secured three strong offers and presented these back to the client.

The chosen lender was NatWest – not just because of the attractive terms, but because of their flexible approach to development funding.

The result

The £850k commercial mortgage refinanced the company’s short-term debt, dramatically improving their cash flow. In real terms, it reduced their annual debt servicing costs by £303k – money that could now be redirected into growth-focused initiatives, including the planned site expansion.

We worked closely with valuer Cundalls to ensure the valuation reflected not only the current market value of the premises but also the Gross Development Value post-expansion. This future-focused approach means that, as long as the development starts within the next 6–12 months, the bank can rely on the existing valuation – saving the business the cost and delay of a second valuation down the line.

Crucially, NatWest agreed to release funds for the site development in tranches, as work progresses. That’s a big win for Ryetec’s cash flow, avoiding the need to front all the development costs before seeing any funding – a common sticking point with many lenders.

In their corner

This wasn’t just about securing a mortgage. It was about helping Ryetec take control of their growth – moving away from short-term, reactive funding and towards a longer-term, sustainable approach.

With the right funding in place, a flexible lender on board, and a clear view of the road ahead, Ryetec is now in a stronger position to expand, invest, and build on the success they’ve worked so hard to achieve.