Allied Textiles

Allied Textiles has turned to Lloyds Bank Corporate Markets to help the company drive through its expansion plans.

The company will continue to invest to sustain its leading technical capability in the manufacture of technical textiles, building on the various acquisitions it has made in recent years. Meanwhile, Lloyds Bank Corporate Markets will take on all of Allied Textiles’ banking operations with immediate effect.

Currently employing just under 300 staff, Allied Textiles makes fabric for everything from parachutes to butchers’ aprons. It has also officially opened its refurbished factory in the Rossendale Valley, taking on 40 staff in the process, expanding its manufacturing facilities for specialist coated products.

Stewart McGuffie, Chief Executive of Allied Textiles said: “Rossendale Valley is a real jewel in our crown. We have had a tough few years like many businesses but we have taken this as an opportunity to get ourselves in good shape for the future, investing in the business and making sure we are concentrating on what we do best.
From September, Allied Textiles will be supported by Lloyds Banking Group’s Leeds office, having been with their previous banking partner for over 100 years.

Joanne Williamson, Business Development Director at Lloyds Bank Corporate Markets in Leeds said: “The investment and growth of Allied Textiles is very important for the local economy. The business employs a wide variety of skilled workers and its expansion will offer new employment opportunities in the region.
“We will be providing credit facilities and a range of other support to the business with a view to building for long term growth. We are delighted to be working with Allied Textiles, especially given it is a manufacturing business in a very traditional industry – it’s a rare breed these days.”

The deal is an example of Lloyds Banking Group working hard to find the right package for clients.
Steven McGawn, Director of Business Development at Lloyds TSB Commercial Finance, who are providing asset based lending facilities to Allied Textiles added: “We worked closely with Stewart and the team to put in place a flexible cashflow facility which will grow in-line with sales, providing financial headroom and ensuring the company is in a strong position to grow.”

Allied Textiles is a group of five specialised businesses each focused on manufacturing for their own markets. The company has facilities in the textile heartlands of Yorkshire, Derbyshire and Lancashire providing a modern take on traditional industries.

Stewart McGuffie added: “We weren’t on the hunt for a new bank but we realised a year ago we needed someone who shared our long term goals. We were impressed with the team from Lloyds Bank Corporate Markets, they took time to get to know our business, the decision makers are based locally so that is a benefit to us, we didn’t once feel like this was a black box crunching numbers but a team that wanted to find the best way to work with us. We are looking forward to a long term relationship.”

Itac Ltd this morning completed the purchase of Texas Coating Developments (Texas) from Allied Textiles Ltd.

The Texas business is currently located on the Allied site in Rawtenstall. ITAC will continue to operate from this site for a period to ensure continuity of supply. However, it is the intention to consolidate operations at the ITAC current site in Radcliffe.

As part of the transaction, ITAC will retain the skills of the key employees of Texas.

Texas has been part of the Allied Group since 1985 and is engaged in the supply of chemicals to the UK Textile Coating Industry.

Commenting on the transaction, Paul Armitt, Managing Director of ITAC said:

"Itac Ltd has known and respected the skills of Texas Coating Developments for many years. The business offers an excellent fit and an opportunity for Itac to strengthen it's position in the specialist textile coating market. We intend to make the transition to Itac ownership seamless for the customers of Texas, many of whom are already known to us. We look forward to continuing and developing those relationships."

Stewart McGuffie, Group Chief Executive of Allied Textiles added:

"We were keen to ensure the long term future of Texas, but our investments in recent years have focused on strengthening our core technical textiles business and we were increasingly conscious that Texas was not a good fit with our core strengths. Itac are well known in the industry and have a reputation for quality of service and technical excellence. We look forward to a long supply relationship with them."

For more information contact:

Stewart McGuffie
Group Chief Executive
Allied Textiles Limited:

T: +44 (1226) 285533
E: smcguffie@allied-textiles.com
W: www.allied-textiles.com

Paul Armitt
Managing Director
ITAC Limited:

T: +44 (1204) 573736
E: paul.armitt@itac.uk.com
W: www.itacadhesives.com

The consolidation of our various coating operations is now nearing completion.

We have now fully vacated the Vitapruf site at Salford; and Huncoats will be fully closed down by the September holiday week, thereby completing the consolidation of all our operations on the Rawtenstall site.

The focus now needs to move to maximise the potential from the consolidated operation. The acquisitions of IQ in 2009 and Vitapruf earlier this year left us as the UK market leader in direct coating, with an operation close to double the size of the original Coating Applications business.

In recognition of the increased scale and complexity of the business, we are now keen to strengthen the management structure to move the business forward.

I am therefore delighted to announce the appointment with immediate effect of Simon McLean as General Manager of the Coating Applications Group.

Whilst Simon will now be responsible for all aspects of the coatings business, he will retain direct responsibility for key customer relationships we acquired in the Vitapruf deal.

Whilst the local management team at Rawtenstall will now report to Simon, John Reed will retain overall responsibility for the coatings business as Managing Director and Simon will continue to report to John.

I am sure you will join me in wishing Simon well in his expanded role.


Stewart McGuffie
Chief Executive
14th July 2011