Linked Finance, Ireland’s leading peer-to-peer (P2P ) lending company has raised more than €45,000 for leading Mayo-based menswear company, Doherty Menswear.
To date, €1,012,000 has been raised through Linked Finance’s online lending platform (www.linkedfinance.com ) to facilitate business growth in Mayo, for 29 businesses.
Established in August 1976, Leo Doherty Menswear instantly made an impact on men's fashion; housing high-quality designer brands which had not previously been available in the area.
After 11 successful years in business, in September 1986 the company needed to expand, relocating to its current premises on Main Street, Castlebar. In 2010, the company expanded yet again to a second location on Pearse Street, Ballina.
The company has become renowned in Mayo for tailor-made clothing, with everything from suits and belts to cuff-links and shoes available in store. Due to its popularity over 40 years in business, Doherty Menswear is the official tailor to the Mayo GAA Team.
In 2017 a re-branding and refurbishment of the Castlebar store brought with it the opening of a suit gallery, with 30 mannequins showcasing Doherty’s extensive range of suits.
Doherty Menswear used its first loan, of €25,000, raised on the Linked Finance platform to finance this refurbishment. To satisfy the growing demand that Doherty’s is experiencing, Leo Doherty, owner of the store, returned to the platform to secure a second loan to increase stock levels.
As a result of Linked Finance’s auto-bid system, Doherty’s €20,000 loan was fully funded in one second, allowing the company to take advantage of business momentum by increasing stock levels on the back of an almost immediate access to the funds raised.
Leo Doherty said: “We’ve used Linked Finance twice now because of just how fast and efficient the service is. Our repayment history on our first loan from 2017 put us in a very strong position to return to the platform to raise a second loan this year.
"Our application was processed very quickly, and because the loan filled in one second, the funds were in our account within two days, allowing us to purchase the extra stock we needed right away.”
Niall Dorrian, CEO, Linked Finance, said: ‘‘The purpose of our platform is to support great Irish businesses and provide them with an alternative to traditional bank lending in the form of quick and hassle-free access to funding so they can unlock the full potential of their business.
"Our platform connects Irish businesses with lenders who recognise the enormous potential and economic worth of those businesses and want to invest in them. We pride ourselves in providing a process that is fast, efficient, and transparent, allowing Irish businesses to take control of their finances and meet their business objectives.”
Over the past four years, Linked Finance has facilitated more than 1,400 businesses throughout Ireland to raise funding.
