Company

Elite Car Spa provides meticulous car valeting and detailing services for high-performance, luxury supercars ranging from Aston Martin and Bentley to Lamborghini and Bugatti. The business was launched by local entrepreneur Chris Cottam in 2023.

Funding Requirement

Elite Car Spa secured a £455,000 finance deal to complete the outright purchase of its existing headquarters which boasts a purpose-designed, drive thru car valeting and detailing workspace, and to lay the foundations to franchise the business model across the UK.

Finance Solution

With the business already establishing itself in the Cheltenham area with partnerships with local dealerships such as HR Owen, the injection of working capital has helped the car detailing firm secure funding having previously struggled through traditional lenders such as banks due to relatively short trading history.

As an added revenue stream, Chris has converted the upstairs space into 10 serviced offices to provide rental opportunities to other local businesses.

Having established himself in the hotel industry for over 35 years, both in London and internationally, he has also owned the Clarence Court Hotel in Cheltenham since 2020 with his partner Elaine.

The purchase of the headquarters was key to achieving the potential to eye up further business expansion through franchising opportunities with other dealerships across the UK.

The car detailing company needed a lender that could buy into the company’s growth plans despite having only a relatively short trading history. The additional income and financial security provided by the lettings were also key factors in Reward being able to make the deal happen.

David Owen, Business Development Director for Reward Funding, commented: “Being able to help fund the ambition of successful entrepreneurs like Chris, who have struggled to secure finance through traditional lenders, is hugely rewarding. Although he has spent the majority of his career in the hotel sector, Chris has quickly established a proven track record in the car detailing and automotive space.

“Elite Car Spa really demonstrates our flexibility as an alternative lender and our ability to take a pragmatic approach when presented with a business that has strong growth potential and franchising ambitions.”

Client Testimonial

“We’ve been on an exciting journey with the business and quickly realised that any long-term franchising and growth aims needed to be underpinned by the renovation and purchase of our headquarters. We’ve worked hard to transform it into a state-of-the-art car detailing and valeting facility, whilst the development of office space on the upper floor provides home to several local businesses.

“It’s been a pleasure working with David and the team at Reward, who stepped in to support us financially at a time when the banks were unable to help us fund the purchase. Rather than taking a step back and slowing down as a business, the working capital has enabled us to complete the transaction at pace, and we now look forward to national expansion.”

Chris Cottam, Founder and Director of Elite Car Spa