Rising success for Chapelhall company

Loan helps growth

A growing Chapelhall firm has secured £ 700,000 of new contracts, with the help of a business loan arranged via North Lanarkshire Council’s enterprise team.

Water engineers WQS, based at the area’s industrial estate, secured a £75,000 loan to ensure they could take on the challenges of a host of new public sector contracts.

The funds were used to take on five new employees and acquire three vans, allowing the two-yearold firm to scale up and fulfil their busy order book.

Specialising in maintaining and upgrading hot and cold water systems, WQS was established by brothers Kevin and Des McGivern and has 17 staff.

The brothers also have a second business, Wonderseal, which provides patches for commercial water storage systems and ships to Belgium, Germany and the US.

Kevin said: “Ninety per cent of our work at WQS comes from local authorities and the public sector – contracts can be high-value but cashflow was a challenge for a young company like us.

“We were confident of our abilities to deliver on the contract requirements but just needed the injection of capital to get started.

“The loan funding has helped finance five new employees and three vans, propelling us forward and taking business to a new level.”

Business Loans Scotland can provide loan funding of up to 50 per cent and £100,000 for working capital, equipment and property.

Council enterprise manager Yvonne Weir said: “It’s pleasing to see the impact of this loan.

“These contract wins will be a big confidence boost to WQS and pave the way for the business to grow turnover and jobs.”

For details, call 01236 632863, email businesssupport@ northlan. gov. uk or visit www. northlanarkshire.gov.uk/business or www.bls.scot.

Growing business Chapelhall firm WQS, run by Kevin and Des McGivern, benefited from a business loan