Case Study: Parsons Containers

Introduction

Ean Parsons, CEO of Parsons Containers, approached Maven as his business required a capital injection to help it scale. Being based in County Durham the Company was able to access funding through the Finance Durham Fund which is managed by Maven.

In this video, Ean and David Nixon, Senior Investment Manager at Maven, discuss how the fund was able to support the growth ambitions of Parsons, providing the finance it required to expand the business and capitalise on new market opportunities. Maven was able to provide flexible and tailored funding solutions which suited the business now and for the future.

Transcript

David: So Ean first approached us to use our Finance Durham investment across three key things. First of all, he had grand ambitions to grow the business and in order to do that he would need to buy out his business partner to allow him the freedoms to execute his business plan, so the first thing we did was execute a management buyout. The second thing he needed to do was grow his self-storage business that means new sites put in place, new staff, new hires and we provided the capital expenditure that would allow him to grow that side of the business.

Ean: Well I was made aware that Finance Durham had a fund that fit us well I thought, as soon as it was mentioned to me that it was a possibility. I just thought that's a good fit. Maven have met our expectations as an investor because they tested us in the process leading up to the investment ensuring that we had a good forecast and a good plan.

David: Parsons is a really strong business I think for three main reasons. First of all management itself, Ean Parsons is very knowledgeable about both sectors they operate in, shipping containers and the various facets that have alongside cell storage and the importance that has to the business itself for long-term sustainable revenues. The second part of what makes it a good business is actually the market that it operates in. Parsons has a very good sales mix for providing good exposure to the UK economy's growth alongside counter cyclical revenues coming from its self-storage business, which can get revenues in both down and upside economies. Finally, Parsons is a stable and well-run business that has strong profits and revenues, therefore a really good, solid base to grow from.

So one of the challenges that Ean Parsons had specifically at the beginning of this transaction was access to capital itself as I'm sure most owners of established businesses can sympathize with finding the level and size of the investment can be problematic as most traditional lenders have a certain view of risk.

Ean: Mavens funding and Business Durham have enabled us to achieve our growth ambitions because they gave us working capital, which gives you more money so we were able to buy assets like New Self Storage sites. Also, you get the funding support and advice that comes with it. To have people that can hit the ground running because they understand your business model is massive.

David: Maven is a flexible lender and the ability to invest in debt and equity allowed us to structure transactions that would work for him and provide him with the best possible foundation for success. The most important part of Maven's funding package to Parsons was our ability to structure something with the size and scale that Ean required. Maven have been very supportive of the directions that we've taken as a business and often we've had to change those at short notice because businesses that adapt are the ones that survive and succeed.