Member Article

Leeds cleaning entrepreneur aims to double revenue to £7 million with help from Lloyds Bank

An ambitious entrepreneur who founded his building services company just two years ago is looking to more than double revenues to £7 million in 2014, thanks to support from Lloyds Bank.

Dinesh Bhogal’s business career began in 2007 when the trainee teacher responded to a leaflet through his door from a firm offering to clean the drive of his home in Leeds and he was so impressed, he bought the company.

Dinesh, 33, acquired EK Exterior Cleaning from the owner, who was about to retire, and used his knowledge of the education sector to win bigger jobs from the national school rebuilding programme, Building Schools for the Future.

That led to more public sector wins, including cleaning work at prisons, hospitals and MoD sites, and Lex Worldwide was founded in 2011. Today it has more than 120 workers on its books and a management team of 11.

FTSE 250 construction company Interserve, which specialises in large Government building contracts including schools and police stations, was an important early win for Lex Worldwide and is still a valued customer today.

Around 70 per cent of Lex Worldwide’s revenues are generated by its cleaning division, which specialises in cleaning newly-built buildings as well as ongoing commercial cleaning contracts of offices, factories and public buildings.

The remaining 30 per cent is generated by Lex’s building and maintenance division.

Turnover is predicted to leap to £7 million this year – up from £2.7 million in the year to March, 2013 – after the company agreed a new £300,000 factoring facility with Lloyds Bank Commercial Finance.

Dinesh said: “We want to become a major principle facilities management contractor for the UK construction industry, while also creating employment, training people and giving them opportunities across the country.

“I sat down with Lloyds and told them my plans. It was obvious that cashflow was an issue, but Lloyds was able to brainstorm ideas for us and came up with a solution that resolved everything.

“Every client has its own payment terms, and we respect that, but it means we are sometimes waiting up to 120 days for payment. The factoring facility releases a proportion of that once the work is complete and it has transformed the business.

“This facility is allowing us to bid for bigger jobs and benefit from the recovery of the construction sector.”

Now Lex Worldwide, which also banks with Lloyds Bank Commercial Banking, is launching seven new divisions including facilities management, landscaping, workforce and security.

Relationship manager Steve Rogers, of Lloyds Bank Commercial Finance, said: “Dinesh had already built a great business, but it had the potential to achieve so much more if its cashflow issues could be resolved.

“Factoring provides money up front and immediately. And it’s flexible, so for businesses that are expanding, with their turnover increasing rapidly, the facility will grow with the business instead of acting as a fixed level of funding.

“That frees up Dinesh to do what he does best: growing his business.”

Gary Whitaker, Relationship Manager, Lloyds Bank Commercial Banking, said: “Lex Worldwide is a dynamic young business with great growth potential.

“Rapid growth presents its own challenges, so it is important to have the right facilities in place to help as Lex Worldwide continues to win market share and benefit from the recovery of the construction sector.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Clare Burnett .