Secure Trust Bank grants $1 million finance facility to UK electronic manufacturer Damson

Founded in 2011, Damson designs and manufactures portable speakers and accessories. The speakers work by using incisor diffusion technology and being placed on hard surfaces, such as glass or metal, to amplify sound frequencies. The firm’s products are sold by retailers including Dixons Travel and Tesco, and also reach consumers in the US, Australia and Europe.   

Damson recorded a seven-figure turnover in the year to March 2014 – up 400% on the previous year.  

The invoice finance facility will be used to help fund over £1 million worth of wireless Jet speakers being exported to an electronic wholesaler in the US. The coming months will see Damson continue to explore options to expand the business, which is on track to double headcount in the next year.   

Secure Trust Bank, an AIM-listed challenger bank owned by Arbuthnot Banking Group, launched its Commercial Finance arm in September this year to help SMEs obtain working capital to achieve their growth targets.  

The deal was structured by Secure Trust Bank Commercial Finance’s Northern team, headed up by regional director Sean Powell, alongside regional sales director David Green, and relationship manager Mark Nightingale.  

James Talbot, chief executive of Damson, stressed: “It has been great working with the team at Secure Trust Bank Commercial Finance. They were in an optimal position to structure the deal with a US wholesaler and stepped up where our existing bank could not provide the funding. This finance provides us with a strong platform for growth and we look forward to our ongoing relationship with the team.”  

Sean Powell, regional director at Secure Trust Bank Commercial Finance, added: “Damson has developed a fantastic range of products that use innovative technologies to improve the quality of sound for its consumers. We are pleased to be working with the management team as the business looks to accelerate product sales across the UK and international markets.”  

Secure Trust Bank Commercial Finance operates nationwide throughout the UK, with sales teams in Birmingham, Leeds, Manchester, Liverpool, Newcastle, Bristol, London and the South Coast.  

Secure Trust Bank is a long-established UK bank. Its core business is to provide banking services including a range of lending solutions and saving products. It also provides fee-based current accounts to UK customers who may not be adequately served by other banks.

The company has been a subsidiary of Arbuthnot Latham & Co., Limited since 1976 and a subsidiary of Arbuthnot Banking Group PLC since 1985. Arbuthnot Banking Group PLC owns a 51.9% shareholding in the Company.  

It successfully listed on AIM on 2 November 2011 and the following year it acquired Everyday Loans Holdings Limited and its subsidiaries. Everyday Loans is a provider of unsecured loans operating through a national network of 31branches where loans are advanced, serviced and collected.     

The Company’s diversified lending portfolio focuses on unsecured personal loans, motor finance, retail point of sale finance and more recently SME lending activities. Its lending is entirely funded by customer deposits, with no exposure to wholesale funding.