Gloucestershire bathroom manufacturer secures £3.75m to grow

By Nicky Godding

1 February 2024

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Darren Bedford, sales director, Chris Thain, operations director, Bev Brown, finance director and Mike Gahir, managing director Lakes Bathrooms

A Tewkesbury based nationwide bathroom manufacturer has secured a £3.75 million funding facility from Praetura Commercial Finance to grow the business and preserve its late founder’s legacy.

Lakes Showering Spaces, based in Tewkesbury, has manufactured and supplied bath screens, shower enclosures and walk-in showers since it was founded in 1986. The business secured the funding to help meet rising customer demand and changing trends in bathroom and shower designs.

Lakes plans to modernise its range, starting with the launch of a new collection of walk-in showers in various styles and colours. The company also plans to explore overseas markets, securing future growth for the business.

Coinciding with the deal, the current Lakes Showering Spaces board also completed a management buy-out (MBO) of the company, which the business says will protect the ethos laid out by its late founder Robin Craddock.

Mike Gahir, managing director at Lakes Showering Spaces, said: “Lakes Showering Spaces is a family business built on family principles. We have more than 130 staff across the UK and our wholly owned subsidiary in China, and everyone is committed to growing and taking on new opportunities.

“The key for us was preserving the legacy established by Robin, who sadly died seven years ago. Having an understanding and supportive funding partner in Praetura Commercial Finance will enable us to invest in the business he was so proud of.”

Stuart Bates, commercial director at Praetura Commercial Finance, said: “We instantly understood the vision laid out by the Lakes Showering Spaces team and their desire to continue building the brand Robin founded. Lakes is renowned for quality and innovation, so this funding facility is very much intended to keep the brand at the forefront of the bathroom sector, with new product launches and styles.”

The deal was completed by mfg Solicitors LLP, Squire Patton Boggs and Harrison Clark Rickerbys, who advised Lakes Showering Spaces, Praetura Commercial Finance and the vendors respectively.

Chris Jones, Managing Director at Select Business Finance, introduced the deal and also advised Lakes Showering Spaces.

By Nicky Godding

Nicky Godding is editor of The Business Magazine. Before her journalism career, she worked mainly in public relations moving into writing when she was invited to launch Retail Watch, a publication covering retail and real estate across Europe.

After some years of constant travelling, she tucked away her passport and concentrated on business writing, co-founding a successful regional business magazine. She has interviewed some of the UK’s most successful entrepreneurs who have built multi-million-pound businesses and reported on many science and technology firsts.

She reports on the region’s thriving business economy from start-ups, family businesses and multi-million-pound corporations, to the professionals that support their growth and the institutions that educate the next generation of business leaders.