Leamington Hair and Beauty spa to reopen thanks to CBILS loan

Published by

Nicky Godding

A Warwickshire luxury hair and beauty salon that lost hundreds of bookings because of the coronavirus pandemic has reopened its doors to customers, after securing a loan from Lloyds Bank as part of the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS).

The Spa Leamington, which provides hair treatments and luxury day spa packages to more than 5,000 customers each year, faced difficulties when the pandemic forced the closure of hair and beauty salons across the country.

Established in 2010, The Spa Leamington is run by husband and wife team Marc and Julie Phillpot. It has now secured a £120,000 CBIL to support the firm’s working capital needs during this challenging period. The cashflow boost has also enabled the business to invest in personal protective equipment (PPE) and perspex screens to enable it to function safely after lockdown.

In line with the government’s recent re-opening of hair salons, The Spa Leamington has seen a strong recovery in demand for its services, with a surge in bookings from people wanting to fix their lockdown hair. Within the first week of opening, the business had a waiting list of more than 350 customers and had received an additional 400 email enquiries.

Having initially furloughed all 19 of its employees, The Spa Leamington has now brought all its team back to work. Strict social distancing measures have been implemented, with all staff wearing PPE and with extra protocols in place.

Marc Phillpot, Director at The Spa Leamington, said: “It goes without saying that we’ve been badly impacted by the coronavirus crisis and our business income stopped overnight. But, after so many weeks of neglect, everyone is now desperate for a haircut and we’ve been inundated with calls and emails from customers who are desperate for us to fix their lockdown hair disasters.

“The support we’ve had from Lloyds Bank has been outstanding. The team has been supportive and the finance we needed to help us to get through lockdown and prepare for our reopening was put in place quickly. Welcoming customers back to the hair salon was just the first step in our transition back to normal operations and we’re thrilled that we’re now able to do the same for those who want spa and beauty treatments as well.”

Noshad Khowaja, Relationship Manager at Lloyds Bank, said: “The Spa Leamington is a fantastic business, with a very loyal customer base. But, like everyone in the hair and beauty sector, it’s needed support to adapt to the new challenges it now faces in reopening its doors and to keep both its staff and customers safe in this post-lockdown world."

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.