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Business is Blooming
04/12/2008
A Nottinghamshire business that acts as a secure network for florists is scaling up its enterprise after securing equity investment worth up to £168,000 from E-Synergy, East Midlands Business Angels and company management.
Flowers By Florists, based in Sutton in Ashfield, is run by a team of huge standing and experience within the industry, at names such as Interflora and Flowers Direct, and now aims to rival these major networks.
"The key to our success to date and in the future is our efficiency and our flexibility,” explains John Butterworth, MD of Flowers By Florists.
“The business was born when we identified a widespread frustration of florists with other networks. Our competitors charge fixed percentage fees on orders, whereas we use a fixed fee structure. This means savings for the customer placing the order and more of the money staying with the florists for less effort and for greater profit.
“We have built a very efficient business based around our superior technology and with this recent backing we now have the chance to scale up the network and bring the larger clients onboard. We have 170 florists on our books and there are a further 300 partners that we now want to bring on.”
As part of the route to securing investment, Flowers By Florists attended various showcases with Connect Midlands. It was at one of these events that they met E-Synergy.
E-Synergy wanted to invest £84,000 from their Early Growth Fund but this had to be matched by new private money. This was provided by £30,000 from the existing shareholders and East Midlands Business Angels, who added a further £54,000.
“We are very thankful to the team at Connect Midlands for all of their help and assistance pre-investment, which included contributing towards various deal fees and appointing and part-funding our consultant, Lorna White, who now joins us a non-executive director.
Paul Jenkinson, regional manager at Connect Midlands said; “I am delighted that Flowers by Florists has overcome several challenges to become investment ready and receive funding.”
Submitted by Sarah Crennell