Ryan FowlerVehicle lighting specialist Bee Lighting is scaling up operations and creating new jobs following a £150,000 investment from the Community Investment Enterprise Fund (CIEF), provided through BCRS Business Loans. The Redditch-based business, which supplies lighting to luxury automotive brands including McLaren, Aston Martin, Lamborghini, Lotus and Ford, is using the funding to support working capital needs.
The company, founded in 2006 by Paul Crees and Colin Fulford, has returned to active growth after its founders recently resumed leadership. The funding has helped Bee Lighting increase production capacity and secure new orders, with three new staff already hired and further recruitment planned.
Colin Fulford, operations director at Bee Lighting, said: “Despite having a solid business plan, we struggled to access funds, but BCRS saw our strategy and got behind it. The funding is really helping us to get the business growing again. It has helped us secure at least 20 jobs and has put us in a really good position to win new business.”
He added: “Since receiving the support from BCRS we have increased our orders, and the business is going from strength to strength. We are now confident that we will be able to keep expanding. It was simple to apply for the funding. Our business development manager at BCRS was very responsive and easy to deal with. I was surprised at how straightforward the process was.”
Angie Preece, senior business development manager at BCRS Business Loans, said: “Bee Lighting is an innovative business that delivers challenging lighting projects for some of the world’s leading brands. The company has great potential, and I am pleased that BCRS has been able to provide the support that the team needs to grow sales and capitalise on future opportunities.”
Bee Lighting accessed the funding through a referral from Lloyds Bank. The CIEF is backed by Lloyds, Better Society Capital, and regional lenders including BCRS. The £62m fund supports businesses that are unable to secure finance from mainstream lenders, with BCRS delivering CIEF support across the West Midlands and Wales.
Lloyds Banking Group Midlands ambassador Andrew Asaam said: “We are delighted to see Bee Lighting benefitting from our recent investment in the Community Investment Enterprise Fund. Lloyds Banking Group is committed to helping business owners access funding, creating jobs and opportunities across the West Midlands.”
BCRS lent £9.9m to 124 businesses in 2024–25, safeguarding 889 jobs and creating 317 new roles. More than a third of its lending went to the UK’s most disadvantaged areas.
