Arbuthnot Commercial ABL provides £5m working capital facility to Angels

Arbuthnot Commercial ABL has supported Morris Angel & Son Limited (“Angels Costumes” or “Angels”), the longest-established costumiers in the world, with a £5 million asset-based lending facility.

This will provide the business with a higher level of working capital to fund its future growth plans, as well as additional headroom to cover the purchase of new stock to meet the seasonal demands of the market.

Since the emergence of cinema in the early 1900s, Angels Costumes has worked with some of the most iconic directors in the industry, including Alfred Hitchcock, Powell and Pressburger, David Lean, Richard Attenborough, Steven Spielberg and Martin Scorsese. Angels Costumes has also supplied a great many films and movie franchises, including the Carry On films, Bond, Star Wars, Pirates of the Caribbean and Harry Potter.

Today, the company has eight-and-a-half miles of costumes at its premises in Hendon, North West London. In addition to its multi-award-winning work in creating costumes for the film industry, its recent TV credits include The Crown, Call the Midwife, Downton Abbey, Poldark, Peaky Blinders and Ripper Street.

Having banked with the same institution since Angels Costumes was founded in 1840, the decision to switch to a new funding partner was a big step for the family-run business. However, this was made significantly easier by Arbuthnot Commercial ABL’s responsive approach towards supplying the quantum of funding that will enable the business to grow and prosper in this, its sixth generation.

Tim Hawkins, Managing Director at Arbuthnot Commercial ABL, commented:

“We are particularly delighted to have been given this opportunity to play our part in backing a successful family-owned British business. Having supplied costumes to films which have collectively been awarded 37 Best Costume Oscars and with the largest collection of period costumes in the world, Angels has a globally unique market position, an outstanding legacy and an exciting future. We look forward to supporting Tim Angel and his team and to providing Angels with the strength of relationship and certainty of funding for many generations to come.”

Tim Angel OBE, CEO of Angels, said:

“I was very impressed at the speed at which Arbuthnot Commercial ABL responded, the depth of interest they took in our business, the early involvement of the credit team, the way in which they grasped what we were looking to achieve and the unique nature of our costume collection. With the key decision-makers at the meeting, we were able to have a proper conversation and received an offer straight away that would provide us with greater headroom than our previous facility. The experience made me feel how things used to be in banking, working with people that take the time to understand your business and build a strong relationship.”

Asset appraisals were carried out by SIA Group, while Irwin Mitchell provided legal advice to Arbuthnot and Duff & Phelps advised Angels.