West London jewellery retailer receives £300k HSBC funding ahead of predicted “Christmas spike”

A West London jewellery business is preparing for a Christmas spike in sales following a record year, backed by £300k in finance from HSBC UK with an 80 per cent guarantee from UK Export Finance (UKEF).

TLKE works in partnership with a network of international brands to distribute “quality, branded jewellery” into the UK and wider European market. It works with designers including Ralph Lauren and DKNY, and supplies retailers such as House of Fraser, Fenwick and Ernest Jones.

The UKEF supported loan enabled TLKE to keep hold of major contracts as the Covid pandemic developed. Since the loan, the business is expanding to 30 additional Ernest Jones stores, recruiting more people, and preparing for an increase in orders over the Christmas period as retailers stock up.

To date, 109,887 businesses have received support from the CBILS scheme throughout the pandemic. UKEF has also provided over £150m worth of support for growing businesses through the GEF, since the scheme was set up in March to provide longer-term financing for growing UK exporters.

Minister for exports, Mike Freer MP said: “The Covid pandemic created unexpected obstacles for every business across the UK, and government support has helped TLKE through this difficult period. I’m incredibly encouraged to see growing businesses like TLKE continuing to sell from Britain to the world during the festive period.”

Teresa Timberlake, founding partner at TLKE, said: “Like millions of other businesses, Covid has presented all kinds of challenges. We were put in a really tricky position and facing the need to take on a lot of debt to keep our supplier relationship.

“The UKEF support helped us navigate that. As well as Christmas sales, I’m excited about the years ahead and the brilliant brands we might have the opportunity to work with as a result.”