Secure profit

, a manufacturer of specialist CCTV surveillance systems, claims to be on track to secure a profit this year following financial support from regional development agency,

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The Rugby-based firm was affected by the economic downturn in November last year after failing to secure credit from the traditional banking sector. However, following a loan of £80,000 from the Advantage Transition Bridge Fund (ATBF), the company was able to complete engineering projects and secure customer orders from the UK and Europe.

Lloyd Proctor, the firm's director, said: ‘Innovation is vital to firms such as ours, but just when we needed to secure the finance necessary to complete the development of our new range of leading-edge products, lending from the banks dried up as a result of the credit crunch.

‘We approached the Advantage Transition Bridge Fund, who visited us here in Rugby and were impressed by the company and its business plan. We promptly had a loan offer for £80,000.

‘It was exactly the injection of capital our cash flow needed, giving us the breathing space to complete some key engineering projects and clinch several contracts, including one in Europe. The loan has now been repaid and Apec Systems is on course for a modest profit in 2009.’

The Advantage Transition Bridge has total available funds of £9.9m to offer small and medium-sized enterprises that are having short-term funding difficulties.

By June this year, the ATBF had approved 55 loans, totalling around £9.2m, of which 50 had been drawn down, totalling £8.2m and supporting more than 3,500 jobs.

Norman Gascoigne, chairman of the ATBF, said: ‘Apec Systems had been starved of working capital as a result of the banking crisis just at the wrong time. The ATBF was delighted to support Lloyd, Jonathan and their team with a loan to enable them to complete projects in hand and further position the company for future growth.’