Oxford: Printing company gains £1.8m CBILS support

Mayfield Press, a printing company based in Oxford, has been supplying vital Personal Protective Equipment to the healthcare industry since April after receiving a £1.8 million loan from HSBC UK through the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS).

Mayfield Press was founded in 1992 and traditionally specialises in providing printing services to clients across the retail, cosmetic, and hospitality industries. As government guidelines surrounding COVID-19 forced these businesses to close, the company faced an 80% reduction in its usual income streams. However, as demand for PPE across the UK increased, the company began to receive requests from the health workers, ambulance call centres and doctors’ surgeries – clients it hadn’t previously supplied to – that were searching for desk shields, visors and signage during the pandemic.

A large sum of the seven-figure funding package from HSBC UK was used to increase Mayfield Press’ online operations. The company built a digital PPE catalogue for the healthcare industry so it could quickly supply products where there was vital need. The funding also helped Mayfield Press pay bills and cover lost income streams, securing many local jobs and solidifying the company’s future.

Cameron Thomson, managing director at Mayfield Press, (below) said: “As with many businesses, Mayfield Press has faced uncertain times during the pandemic, which has required us to quickly adapt our business to meet the needs of clients. We were being approached by new clients and recognised that we could adapt the business to both help it navigate through a hugely challenging time, and to help in the national PPE effort. The support from HSBC UK has been instrumental in increasing our online product offer and covering business costs so we could adapt to working for an entirely new sector.”

Cameron Rathwell, area director for Corporate Banking in Thames Valley, HSBC UK, commented: “The team at Mayfield Press have shown ingenuity and drive during this time. We were pleased to provide the company further support during the pandemic and we look forward to seeing the business not only recover from this difficult period but continue to grow once normal business operations resume.”