Manchester-based W.A Cooke and Sons are a long established, family run steel engineering company specialising in all forms of steel fabrication including design, manufacture, assembly and installation.

From their head office in Manchester, as well as their 22,000 sq ft Cambridgeshire factory, W.A Cooke and Sons created their Watermark Projects division to provide a complete package of waste water treatment solutions to industrial clients on an individual basis.

The Problem
Simon Cooke, Managing Director, explained, "Our waste water treatment systems offer big savings to our customers; however it is sometimes difficult for them to raise the necessary capital."

The company already offered a rental option, which suits some budgets, but they identified that an option to buy through asset finance would be attractive to other potential customers.

During initial conversations, Watermarks, informed LDF of a client who was in need of a finance option. Direct Meats, suppliers of premium quality meat to the catering industry, required a new £70,000 Dissolved Air Floatation (DAF) system provided by Watermarks.

W.A. Cooke & Sons and Watermarks joined LDF’s Partner Programme. The programme enables equipment suppliers to increase sales, improve cash flow and speed up the sales cycle by offering an asset finance solution to their customers. It reduces the need to discount, while encouraging more inbound leads by making the equipment more affordable for customers.

The Result
By partnering with us, Watermark Projects were able to offer Direct Meats an alternative means of funding the equipment, and by spreading the cost over 7 years, Direct Meats were able preserve the money to invest in other areas of their business. With the aid of LDF assisted Direct Meats with finance to buy the new DAF system, Watermarks made a sale that could have potentially gone to one of their competitors.

Since then, Watermark Projects have provided more of their customers with an alternative source of funding as and when they need it. LDF has also assisted with marketing the new finance option, supporting both companies with the creation of brochures and website content. As Mark Exley, sales manager at WA Cooke & Sons, says: “While it’s four years since the Watermark Projects division was launched, it’s only now, in 2016, that we have this financing option to offer to food businesses. The transformation has been immediate, and has the potential to be a game-changer for us in the years ahead.”