A WINDOW manufacturing company near Ammanford has secured £300,000 of funding to help recover from the effects of Covid-19.

Victorian House Sales Ltd specialises in the manufacturing of sliding sash windows, which are manufactured from a 240,000 square food production facility in Capel Hendre.

Established in 2005, the business employs 180 members of staff and supplies installers across the whole of the UK.

The coronavirus business interruption loan, from Paragon Bank, has enabled the company to recover from cash flow issues, which arose from having to shut down all business for several weeks during the pandemic.

The loan is being used to pay suppliers and has supported the re-opening of the factory, as well as meeting an influx in demand over the summer months. The funding was organised through asset finance broker Premier Asset Finance.

Due to the coronavirus pandemic, production was completely stopped at the Parc Hendre factory in March, which led to the furloughing of most employees for seven weeks. Business gradually resumed in May as the manufacturer was able to start fulfilling orders on its large manufacturing facility, where safe working protocols were adopted.

The business is now seeing a boost in orders thanks to built up demand during the lockdown period, as well as many homeowners investing more into home improvements than previous years.

In June 2020, Victorian House Sales Ltd enjoyed a record manufacturing and sales month with forward orders looking strong and the entire workforce returned to cope with the increased demand.

Scott Starkey, CEO of Victorian House Sales Ltd, said: “The Covid-19 pandemic had a significant impact on the window fitting industry and business ground to a halt at the end of March. This funding has helped us through an incredibly challenging period and has meant we can secure the future of the factory.

“It’s really positive to see such high levels of demand over the summer and we’re pleased that business is recovering so well.”

John Phillipou, managing director of SME lending at Paragon, said: “We are pleased that we have been able to provide support to Victorian House Sales Ltd with finance that is tailored to the business’ needs and that has helped it navigate these unprecedented circumstances.”