Cash boost helps Swisher Blue to clean-up

A Wakefield based specialist hygiene franchise company has expanded business and become accredited to take on the gruesome task of cleaning up major crime scenes.

Swisher Blue Limited was launched two years ago specialising in washroom hygiene and deep cleaning but a recent £25,000 cash injection from Finance Yorkshire has enabled the company to take on even more dirty work.

The investment allowed the company to boost business with new equipment for crime scene cleaning, an improved web page, and a marketing drive.

Managing Director of Swisher Blue, Geoff Hunt, explained: “We used the investment to improve the position of the company. We have new equipment to offer more services - including the crime scene cleaning - and it has put us in a position to be able to go for larger contracts.

“We have been able to have a new website designed and on top of that, the investment allowed us to take on a new operations manager who is going to help promote the business.

“It’s all going forward at the moment for us, and that is all thanks to the Finance Yorkshire investment.”

Despite still being in its early years, Geoff knew Swisher Blue had further potential and had been searching for funding to take business forward. A wise word from business advisor David Baker at Katalyst led Geoff to Finance Yorkshire.

He said: “I had been trying to find funding and was struggling to find anywhere willing to lend to a business that had only been going for a couple of years but when I took our business plan to Finance Yorkshire there were no problems.

“The whole investment process was great. It seemed that everything Finance Yorkshire did was to help us along the way.”

Geoff, who secured the National Association of Crime Scene Cleaners accreditation last year, said the latest side to the business is an interesting talking point.

“The crime scene cleaning is an area of the business that people may not expect us to do. It is not quite the same as cleaning washrooms!

“Although it’s called crime scene, it covers a broad spectrum. It could involve cleaning up an area where there has been a death, or blood spill, any trauma, or the clear up of needles at a site used by drug addicts.

“That aspect of the company, along with the specialist deep cleaning we do elsewhere, forms a big part of the business and the £25,000 from Finance Yorkshire has really helped to give that a boost.”

Finance Yorkshire Investment Manager Ian Howson said: “Swisher Blue Limited was facing the same difficulties as many young businesses when it came to finding funding for growth.

“I am thrilled that, with the help of Finance Yorkshire, the business has been able to diversify into other areas and will now continue to mature.”

Helping a range of small and medium sized businesses to meet their funding requirements for growth and development, Finance Yorkshire provides seedcorn, loan and equity linked investments, ranging from £15,000 to £2m.

The project is supported financially by the European Union. It has attracted £30million investment from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) as part of Europe’s support for the region’s economic development through the Yorkshire and Humber ERDF Programme, £15million from Yorkshire Forward’s Single Programme, and £45million match funding from the European Investment Bank.

For more information about Finance Yorkshire, please visit www.finance-yorkshire.com or ring 0845 649 0000.

Note: this news article is from Finance Yorkshire’s previous fund. Read more about Finance Yorkshire