A Silsden office refurbishment business has secured new orders worth almost £250,000 thanks to support from an organisation which helps smaller enterprises.

Ultimate Office Solutions was established eight years ago by business partners Mark Hickey and Mark Naisbitt and employs more than 20 people.

As well as its base in Ryefield Business Park, Silsden, it has an office at the Digital World Centre, in Salford.

To help it continue its expansion the firm received a £60,000 business loan from Finance Yorkshire, allowing it to employ a new estimator and project manager, as well as providing extra working capital.

Mr Hickey, director of the company, said: “The investment from Finance Yorkshire has already paid dividends. By bringing in an additional member of staff and having sufficient cash flow, we’ve been able to handle tenders more successfully and this has allowed us to gain additional orders worth £200,000 in recent weeks.

“It has strengthened our business significantly and allowed us to concentrate on selling our services while looking at growing key areas. We now have plans to increase our Manchester office, as well as opening a new site in the North East “Mark and I always talked about running our own company and when the opportunity arose we took it. It has allowed us to drive the company where we want to take it and we have never looked back since.”

The firm was introduced to Finance Yorkshire by Peter Sumners, business development manager at the Co-operative Bank.

Jonathan Craig, investment manager at Finance Yorkshire, said: “Ultimate Office Solutions is a real Yorkshire success story. The company has grown significantly in recent years to become a key player in its market, generating new business and expanding employment opportunities for people in the region.

“It has exciting plans for the future and we are pleased our investment has led to the company boosting its order books further.”

Finance Yorkshire provides ‘seedcorn’, loan and equity-linked investments, ranging from £15,000 to £2m, to help a range of small and medium sized businesses meet their funding requirements for growth and development. The project is supported by the EU.