Oswaldtwistle Mills secures £3.8m funding deal

Oswaldtwistle Mills has secured a £3.8m funding package with Barclays after successful and progressive trading results over the last four years.

The Mill generates its income from commission payable on handling charges and rents, acting as managing landlord and site developer with a focus on marketing to drive footfall. It manages direct operations in giftware, garden, rise and recline furniture, a food deli and a sweet shop.

Boyd Hargreaves, managing director of Oswaldtwistle Mills, said: "The new deal offers us a much keener level of interest and has allowed us to tidy up our 9.5 acre freehold property portfolio with a strategic building purchase.

"We have pushed our capital expenditure over the last four years within a difficult climate and have secured funds from various lending avenues to get us where we are now. It has been a very difficult process but we are well positioned now to push forward."

During the last four years Oswaldtwistle Mills has expanded its retail space by 30,000 sq ft to 100,000 sq ft, attracting leading concessions like Edinburgh Woollen Mill, Peacocks, Roman Originals, The Works, Yankee Candle, Thomas Cook and Pavers, as well as converting and letting a 35,000 sq ft business and conference centre which is home to 28 businesses.

Oswaldtwistle Mills incorporates more than 100 concession retailers, including many local independents. It attracts more than a million customers per year and is the UK's leading specialist in bringing coach tours to the facility, attracting over 1200 coaches every year.