The challenge

Bookbarn International sells second-hand and antiquarian books through 20 different online marketplaces around the world. 

William Pryor – a direct descendent of Charles Darwin – and a colleague took over the troubled business in 2013 and has spent the last six years turning it around. He built the brand and put the software and systems in place that have enabled it to trade effectively on a global scale. Today, around 80 per cent of its sales are online, with the other 20 per cent taking place from its two shops and café in Somerset.

After an appearance on Dragons’ Den in 2017 failed to attract investment, William began looking for alternative financial backing to grow the business, which was growing 25 per cent year on year.

The solution

Earlier this year, Bookbarn International CEO Nick Bates came across the Swoop Funding platform and advised William to get in touch. William had engaged a number of brokers previously, and none were able to get him the funding needed. It didn’t take long for that to change once he’d discovered Swoop.

The results

One call with the Head of Funding Solutions at Swoop was all it took. Swoop understood the complexities of the Bookbarn International business, and was able to build a strong business case for an underwriting team to give William a fast decision.

On September 13 2019, just four days after his initial contact with Swoop, William – who has written several books himself – received an offer for £150,000 of debt funding, which he can draw down in stages.

William is now using this to grow Bookbarn International’s stock of books and implement new software within the business.

Client testimonial

“Swoop understood our revenue model and built a business case that made the underwriting process much faster. All it took was one conversation with Swoop. It was that easy. It’s been successful.”

William Pryor, owner of Bookbarn International

The challenge

Mexican food fans Gaz and Tom made it their mission to create a range of 100% natural guacamole and avocado-based dips, after a discussion about why you couldn’t buy delicious guacamole in supermarkets.

They had the basis of a great idea in Holy Moly Dips, but no idea how to make it a reality. They needed funding and advice in order to design and make their product, bring it over from Mexico and get it into UK supermarkets. And they needed to understand more about the commercial, financial and operational pitfalls they might face as an SME.

The solution

The Holy Moly Dips duo discovered Swoop through an entrepreneurial accelerator.

Over the last two years, Swoop has helped the Holy Moly Dips team in a multitude of ways, by listening to what they need and where they want to go, and helping them to find investors, partners and people who can support them in doing so. They have utilised a range of Swoop’s services, including financing, trade financing and tier one investment.

Swoop has also linked Gaz and Tom up with a network of people who have been through similar experiences launching startups, or who have similar businesses – and now they all help each other.

The results

Holy Moly Dips has become the first company in the UK that has introduced 100% natural guacamole and avocado-based dips into the big supermarkets. It is sold in Waitrose, Sainsbury’s, Ocado and Wholefoods, and more than 100 other stores.

Everything is made in Mexico on a family-owned orchard and the company uses the very latest in packaging technology. Its 100% natural ethos has ensured Holy Moly Dips have no preservatives or additives, do not go through a glass flushing process, and taste just as good as homemade versions.

Holy Moly Dips will not be stopping there; its customers are crying out for more ‘free-form’ healthy produce, and the business has a big ambition for growth, which it will be relying on Swoop to assist with.

Client testimonial

Gaz said:

“The really good thing about Swoop is that it doesn’t just give you a service and leave you to go and do it. Its people are very, very interested, invested and genuinely care about how we are doing. They understand where we’ve come from, where we’re going and what we want to achieve. Swoop understands the best options for us in terms of realising our ambition and knowing what it will take to get us from A to B.
Companies like Swoop are so important to the lifeblood of the UK economy. It’s great to have Swoop as a partner. We worked with them really well in the past and we are looking forward to working with them again in the future.”

Visit Holy Moly Dips at www.holymolydips.com/

The Challenge:

Nimble Babies was founded by professional chemist Von Sy. When his sister mentioned that his niece’s milk bottles had gone cloudy and she struggled to get them really clean, Von set about finding a solution. He launched Nimble Babies’ first product – Milk Buster – in 2015.

Von knew the next step would be to launch more plant-based cleaning products but, having spent all his money on the launch of Milk Buster, he needed to source additional funds before he could do so.

The solution:

Swoop stepped in, helping Von to navigate the daunting funding process and introducing him to potential funding sources ranging from tier 1 to invoice finance. Following a series of meetings and phone calls to find out more about the potential funding routes, Von decided that the best approach for Nimble Babies would be to opt for an equity funding option. This ensured that he would benefit from the advice of experienced mentors while having the reassurance of good cash flow and enough working capital to fulfil large orders from retailers and distributors.

The Results:

Thanks to the possibilities that funding has opened up, multi-award-winning Nimble Babies now has 10 plant-based cleaning products in its portfolio. It is available in 87 Boots stores around the UK, as well as on Boots.com, Ocado.com and Amazon.co.uk. Nimble Babies also exports to several overseas markets and hopes to soon be stocked in many more of Boots’ 2,500 stores nationwide, as well as other high street retailers.

Client Testimonial:

Von said:
“I needed to find investors who would believe in my vision. Thank goodness I eventually found them with the help of Swoop!

The Swoop team was great in teaching me about the whole funding process, which was very confusing and daunting for someone who’s never done it before. They suggested funding sources that I’d never even heard of, and it was like having my own internal fundraising team who did all the research and contacting for me! All I needed to do was to turn up to the meetings and dial in for the phone calls they arranged, which was so helpful given that I was having to run the business at the same time.

A growing business is like a growing baby with a growing appetite, so having funding and financing available will be key in taking the business further!”.

Visit Nimble Babies at www.nimblebabies.com