Hampshire: Safety belt company secures HSBC growth funding
Hampshire automotive safety belt company, Safety Belt Solutions, has purchased new 18,000 sq ft premises following an £850,000 finance package from HSBC UK.
Established in 2011, Emsworth-based Safety Belt Solutions designs, manufactures, tests and approves safety belts and restraint systems for the motoring industry.
The HSBC funding allowed the company to expand into the new premises and to purchase stock from both Europe and the Far East, resulting in the recruitment of five new employees to the team.
It also enabled Safety Belt Solutions to purchase a crash test sled, bringing some of the company’s testing back from Europe to the UK. Sled testing involves engineers reproducing the conditions of a full-scale motoring crash in a controlled environment, providing a cost-effective and safe way for the team to simulate a crash and test their products.
Andrew Steer, area director for Business Banking in Surrey and Sussex, HSBC UK, said: “Safety Belt Solutions is a great success story that was established in the town of Emsworth and continues to grow internationally and invest locally. We were thrilled to be able to facilitate the expansion and are confident that the company will become a household name in its industry.”
Martin Phillips, managing director of Safety Belt Solutions, said: “HSBC UK has been instrumental in extending our purchasing reach and pinning down a new base. The facility has enabled us to purchase a crash test sled which allows us to carry out development testing on site as opposed to Europe. It’s also great to be able to recruit more employees and we look forward to welcoming both existing and future clients for many more years to come.”
Safety Belt Solutions’ new base is located on Clovelly Road in Southbourne, Emsworth, from which they serve several prestigious clients within the automotive industry.
The deal was part of HSBC UK’s £14 billion lending fund to support SMEs in the UK, with £250 million committed to businesses in South Hampshire and Dorset.
