Gravesend, August 2009 – J Clubb Ltd, the long-established, family-owned quarrying and ready mixed concrete business, has laid a foundation for the future with a new marine aggregate processing plant thanks to funding from Lombard and NatWest.
J Clubb was formed in 1930 when James Clubb Senior established the business to provide aggregates and more recently ready-mixed concrete to the construction industry. The business was developed and taken forward by his son James Clubb Jnr. Nearly 80 years later, James Jnr's youngest son, Simon is Managing Director of the business, which now boasts seven sites across Kent with its headquarters in Dartford. Today the company provides ready mixed concrete, aggregates, and a range of decorative bagged products for construction and DIY customers across the South East. It has enjoyed continued growth over many decades and now employs 66 full time staff.
One of J Clubb's key production sites, at Denton Wharf near Gravesend, has processed marine ballast since the mid 1970s using technology which is now over 30 years old. The processing operation involves the washing and grading of material dredged from the sea bed in UK coastal waters. The material is fed through a washing plant and a series of crushers and screens to produce a range of different sized gravels and sand.
Simon and his board were looking to replace this plant with a new state-of-the-art machine that would significantly boost both productivity and efficiency while operating in a far more environmentally friendly manner. NatWest has been the company's principal bankers for many years and provided finance for the original project in 1975. Seeking support to finance this new investment, Simon approached Stuart Furlong his Relationship Manager at NatWest. Stuart introduced him to Tim Clucas, Director of asset finance provider Lombard, part of the RBS Group and provided an integrated and specially-tailored funding package to enable the staged purchase of the plant combined with the flexibility of additional adhoc repayments. The plant is now completed and commissioning is underway.
Simon Clubb, Managing Director, J Clubb Ltd, commented:
"At J Clubb, we are tremendously proud that we remain a family owned and operated business after almost
80 years. Part of our success lies in our long tradition of service excellence and product delivery,
with some of our customer relationships spanning decades. As we move forward, it is important that we
remain ahead of the competition and constantly strive for improvement and this new plant is an excellent
example. I am grateful to Stuart, Tim and their teams at NatWest and Lombard for their understanding
and support of our business."
Stuart Furlong, Relationship Manager, NatWest in Thames Gateway, added:
"Businesses need to constantly innovate, particularly in the current economic climate, and purchasing
modern equipment using a combined asset finance and bespoke funding package is a popular option for
many who are seeking to acquire their latest technology.
J Clubb is run by a highly successful management team and we look forward to continuing working with
them as they take the business to the next level."
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For further information please contact
Zoe Martin
Media Manager, The Royal Bank of Scotland
Tel: + 44 (0) 7899 062129
Email: zoe.martin@rbs.co.uk
Notes to Editors
The Royal Bank of Scotland Group:
The RBS Group
is a large international banking and financial services company. Headquartered in Edinburgh, the Group operates
in the United Kingdom, Europe, the Americas and Asia, serving more than 40 million customers.
The Group provides a wide range of products and services to personal, commercial and large corporate
and institutional customers through its two principal subsidiaries,
The Royal Bank of Scotland and
NatWest,
as well as through a number of other well known brands including,
Citizens,
Ulster Bank,
Coutts,
Direct Line and
Churchill.
