£1.5m loan helps Warners cope with huge fish and chips demand
A YORKSHIRE fish merchant is working overtime to meet demand from fish and chip shops across the North of England as lockdown restrictions are eased, with support from Lloyds Bank.
The majority of Doncasterbased Warners Fish Merchants’ customers, which include fish and chip shops, restaurants and catering businesses, closed their doors when the Governmentmandated lockdown came into force on March 23.
In response, the-family run business said it made the difficult decision to furlough a proportion of its workforce and introduced contactless drop-offs and cashless payments to ensure staff could continue to serve customers operating as delivery only.
Now, following the easing of lockdown measures, more of Warners Fish Merchants’ customers are reopening on a daily basis with social distancing measures in place.
Warners said as demand shot up, pressure was put on its cash flow as it didn’t have the money in the bank to meet the orders.
The firm turned to its longtime banking partner Lloyds Bank for support. The bank provided a £1.5m loan through the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS).
With pressure on its cash flow eased, the fish merchant said it can now pay its suppliers, bring back staff and quickly respond to the spike in customer demand.
Warners Fish Merchants was founded in 1941 by Second World veteran Albert Warner. It has grown from a wet fish and fruit shop in Doncaster Market into the leading importer of Icelandic frozen-at-sea haddock and cod in the UK.
The business is owned and operated by Albert’s grandson, Gary Warner, and his children, and serves over 10 per cent of the UK’s fish and chip shops.
Mr Warner said: “We’ve worked hand in hand with the fish and chip industry for more than 60 years now and have been blown away by the resilience and determination of our customers during such an unprecedented time.”
We’ve worked with the fish and chip industry for more than 60 years.
Gary Warner, owner of Warners Fish Merchnats