Universal Tanker Solutions

Universal Tanker Solutions had arranged the purchase of several new types of tanker as part of their ongoing expansion. They needed the vehicles paid for and delivered to their site in Gateshead in just six days to have them available for a staff training session ahead of sending them out on the road.

This would have been a tight turnaround for any business, but it’s exactly the reason they worked with LUV Asset Finance, as they knew they could rely on them to deliver under pressure. However, the funder that initially said they could finance the deal didn’t follow suit. Five days after sending the funder the deal, LUV was still waiting to receive the finance documents to make the payment, with the tanker expected onsite the very next morning.

“Universal Tanker Solutions have been a client of ours for over fifteen years and we’ve never let them down before,” Richard said. “I was not prepared for this to be the first time.” 

Richard rang Allica Bank for help, explaining his predicament.

Allica’s senior asset finance operations manager, Rachel Eckersley-Fallon, and Richard’s business development manager at Allica, Alex Fowler, immediately got to work, recognising how important speed was for Universal Tanker Solutions, and Richard’s relationship with them.

Allica’s asset finance underwriters assessed and approved the deal, before handing over to Rachel’s operations team. They raised the documents and sent them to Universal Tanker Solutions for an electronic signature (taking less than 40 minutes), before doing the final checks and sending the payments.

With the initial call to Allica made at 1.05pm that day, Allica had completed the deal and paid both tanker supplier and broker by 3.15pm – just over two hours later.

“Rachel texted me all throughout the process to keep my mind at rest, completely understanding how problematic this was for us,” Richard said. “I’ve been an asset finance broker for over twenty years and I’ve never experienced service like this.

“I was terrified that I’d fail my client. But Alex, Rachel and the team rolled up their sleeves to make it happen. To turn around a deal of this size in just two hours is unheard of – you are all a huge credit to Allica Bank.”