One of the UK’s top ground care machinery supply businesses has launched a finance arm to help customers cut down on their capital investment and spread out their costs.
The SGM Group, based in Fife has launched a specialist finance company, SGM Finance born out of the success of their ground care machinery company, Scottish Grass Machinery, selling service contracts to golf clubs and local authorities.
SGM’s first six months of business have seen 15 new contract wins worth £1.5 million in total, a figure that is projected to double in the next two years and reach £5 million by 2005.
Best known for Scottish Grass Machinery, the newly formed SGM Group also includes the new divisions SGM Finance and SGM Industrial. “This service allows customers to control their costs as we can offer our customers a contract with no hidden extras,” says group managing director David McInroy. “In one case we managed to save a golf club, which was in serious financial difficulty, from struggling on with old and broken machinery. We were able to supply them after trade-ins with £100,000 worth of brand new equipment at a monthly cost they could afford.”
Backed by Bank of Scotland, SGM Finance is based at the group’s new headquarters in Inverkeithing and offers their customers numerous benefits as David explains.
“We supply our customers with brand new equipment with no capital outlay. Instead there is a monthly payment which guarantees a fixed price for up to five years which covers servicing, maintenance and breakdowns,” he said. “Ultimately we aim to increase the success of the business by diversifying our product range beyond ground maintenance equipment, by providing our existing customers with a one-stop shop with waste sweepers, snow ploughs and environmentally friendly products.”
Scottish Grass Machinery, part of the SGM Group, are the suppliers for such brands as Ransomes, Jacobsen, Cushman, Ryan, Izeki tractors and E-Z-GO Golf cars.