UK bank, OakNorth Bank, has provided a £4.6m loan to AluFold Direct. The loan is coupled with investment from Literacy Capital; a closed-end investment company investing in and supporting small businesses in the UK.
AluFold Direct is a leading creator of premium aluminium residential and commercial building products including bi-fold and sliding doors, windows and roof lanterns.
The investments will allow AluFold Direct also plans to expand its capacity over the next three years.
Paul Pindar, Chairman and co-founder of Literacy Capital said: “We are delighted to complete our investment in AluFold Direct. Craig and Lorraine Miller have done a fantastic job founding and growing the business to its current size and we are excited to be working with Craig and the team to take advantage of the growing market amid increasing popularity for aluminium products across the country.
We pride ourselves on supporting UK growth companies, and have funds available to invest to support more entrepreneurs like Craig and Lorraine Miller in the future. We have worked with the team at OakNorth on several transactions in the past, so know that they’re a partner equally invested in supporting UK scale-ups, and that they’d be willing to take the time to understand a niche industry like this one.”
Craig Miller, Chairman and Managing Director at AluFold Direct, said: “We’re excited to welcome Literacy Capital as our investor. We look forward to benefiting from their experience to assist continuing to grow the business as we focus on broadening our product range and expanding capacity, taking full advantage of the market opportunity at hand.”
Deepesh Thakrar, Senior Debt Finance Director at OakNorth, added: “With household usage of aluminium products increasing, coupled with a decrease in popularity for traditional PVC-based products, now is an opportune time for Literacy to invest in AluFold Direct.
“Literacy and OakNorth share the same values in terms of supporting UK growth businesses and we’re thrilled to be able to once again help Literacy continue their own growth story with this investment. We look forward to working closely with Paul, Richard and the wider team on future transactions.”
