NatWest Create Headlines with Sean Hanna Hair Salon

South London, April 2010 – Award-winning hair salon chain, Sean Hanna, is going from strength to strength and recently landed a finance deal worth £680k through banking partner NatWest to aid further expansion and job creation. This was jointly funded through the Government-backed Enterprise Finance Guarantee Scheme (EFG).

Sean Hanna established his first salon in 1981 in Worcester Park with a view to becoming the UK’s most innovative hairdresser. Over the last three decades he has built his empire across South London boasting over 200 employees at his salons in Croydon, Epsom, Wimbledon, Worcester Park and most recently saw a refurbishment and change in business model at his Putney, Sutton and Bristol salon’s where he has set up a franchise at these units to give employees an opportunity to financially hold a stake in the business.  In addition to the salon side of the business, he is also responsible for setting up an academy in Wimbledon where he recruits and fully trains employees to reflect the reputation of his business.
 
Sean has held a long-standing relationship with NatWest and contacted Varsha Mehta, Relationship Manager at NatWest in Croydon, to discuss his expansion plans.  Varsha was aware of Sean’s ambition and appetite to expand geographically and diversify into franchising and brought on board the expertise of asset finance provider, Karl Evans from Lombard.  Jointly the bank duo provided £680k of finance facilities to fund the franchise scheme, recruit 65 employees at Putney, Sutton and Bristol and refurbish these three prime location salons.  Varsha recommended EFG funding facilities, which is designed to provide working capital to turn sound business propositions into realities despite the current economic climate - £530k EFG facilities and £150k Lombard funding was part of the overall package.

To date RBS have led the field in taking applications for the Enterprise Finance Guarantee scheme, with over £368 million worth of loans already agreed or in the pipeline. Recent BIS figures also confirm that of all EFG lending across the industry, NatWest and RBS have provided nearly half of all loans drawn down.

Sean Hanna, Owner of Sean Hanna Hair Salons, commented:
“I find I still have the same excitement and passion today that I had, when, with the support of NatWest, I started my first South London salon almost 30 years ago. And our core desire is still to provide the best in creative hairdressing combined with outstanding customer care.  Over the past thirty years we have developed our own unique brand and with the support of NatWest I am excited about continuing the success story not just across South London but also in key locations throughout the UK. We are at present opening a new salon in Bristol’s Cabot Circus complex which is great for us and also helps boost local employment in this current climate. Our franchising scheme gives me the opportunity to engage my team as stakeholders in the business, and this is a great way to financially reward them for their loyalty. 

He goes on to explain “During the coming year we are looking to refurbish all our existing salons and bring them up to a Super Brand status, while in the long term we will be developing new franchise opportunities with key team members.”

Varsha Mehta, Relationship Manager at NatWest said:
“Working closely with Sean, it was clear that Sean Hanna is a business with ambitious and clearly defined plans boasting numerous National Hairdressing Awards. These plans merited the provision of capital and were ideally suited to the EFG Scheme. I wish Sean the greatest success with the opportunities the EFG funding will bring and the expansion of his brand across the South of England.”