Scania Financial Services helps a fledgling Manchester business spread its wings.

It may be a 300 year old Benjamin Franklin quote, but the words 'Out Of Adversity Comes Opportunity' ring just as true today as they ever did – just ask Sam Jeffs, Managing Director and Founder of Trafford Park-based Peregrine Ltd.  Following a career in the Royal Navy as a submarine navigator, and a spell captaining a yacht in the Med, Sam returned to the UK to start a transport business…just as Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced the country's first lockdown.

Undeterred, Sam embarked upon his solo man-and-a-van delivery venture, where his commitment to customer service saw him catch the corporate eye of Amazon, which offered him the chance to become one of its delivery partners.  Sam seized the moment and Peregrine Ltd now controls a fleet of 40 self-employed couriers on behalf of the retail giant.

Having built up a close knit team around him, Sam recently took the decision to purchase two HGVs in order to expand into general haulage. 

"But we couldn't do it alone; we needed support on the finance side," he says.  "We knew that could be tough as many providers are not keen to lend to new businesses.  However, our Operations Manager knew the local Relationship Manager for Scania Financial Services' (SFS) and suggested contacting him to discuss finance options.  Our Fleet Manager, who is a keen Scania supporter, was very much in agreement.  Soon, everything began falling into place.

"At the point of our initial enquiry, we didn't even have an O-licence, but we were able to demonstrate a 12-month track record – we had a turnover of £1.3 m in our first year.  SFS could see that we were professional and serious about what we were doing and helped secure the best possible funding arrangement utilising the government's Recovery Loan Scheme.  We then acquired two 2017 Scania R 450 6x2/2 tractor units on SFS hire purchase agreements from our local Scania dealer, West Pennine Trucks.  Completing the picture we also opted for a Scania repair and maintenance package from West Pennine Trucks, which is great because it gives us peace of mind and allows us to focus on building the business.

"I have to say the SFS and West Pennine Trucks teams, both on the sales and the service side, have just been amazing.  They are so supportive and have really made this feel like it’s the right thing for us to do.  That’s a great boost and we're really excited to be part of this journey and to be doing it with SFS and West Pennine Trucks – hopefully they will be lifelong partners for us!"