“Without ART we wouldn’t have been able to do any of this. ART was easy to deal with, interested in us and our ideas for the business and supportive all the way. Roz has visited us many times.”
The business
Lee Grant has a background in sales and finance. His wife Jamie, is a chef. When they noticed that a thriving café in Balsall Common was up for sale because its owners were retiring, they saw the opportunity they had been looking for to run a business together.
Their plan was to build on its past success and grow a reputation as the leading café/delicatessen in the area by way of quality of food and service, sourcing local produce and offering a catering service, bakery and pastry counter as well as hot and cold drinks and meals.
The loan
Needing money for the purchase and a refurbishment, Lee began to approach the banks. “I’ve been an ex pat and run my own business,” he says, “so I didn’t fit a quick tick box profile for the mainstream lenders. We had a sound 10 year plan and were putting our own money into the venture, but the bank managers had no interest in us. It’s so frustrating when you can’t access Tier 1 funding.”
In fact it was ultimately a bank which recommended that Lee try ART Business Loans (ART). “I am disappointed with the banks,” he says, “but a great fan of alternative and additional sources of finance for enterprise such as peer to peer lenders and ART.”
The outcome
Thanks to ART Lee and Jamie were able to go ahead with the purchase and give the café a new Mediterranean look, converting it into a Bistro which opened in April 2018.
“There’s nothing else like it,” says Lee. “We are currently working towards opening in the evenings. We’ve just got a license to sell alcohol and are in the process of planning menus and doing trial nights – sticking to our 10 year plan. We’re doing well and enjoying it.
“Without ART we wouldn’t have been able to do any of this. ART was easy to deal with, interested in us and our ideas for the business and supportive all the way. Roz has visited us many times.”