A Bristol headquartered manufacturer of hard landscaping materials has acquired a new three-acre site on Feeder Road after securing a commercial mortgage from HSBC to support the £1.45 million purchase.

Bowland Stone, which was established in 1995, has bought the land from the former owners of H.J. Chards, which it acquired in 2014. The business has since completely redeveloped the site and moved its accounts and administration teams to the premises.

The recent purchase of the land provides ongoing stability for the business as well as a permanent base in Bristol.

Ian Elston, Managing Director of Bowland Stone, said: “Since acquiring H.J. Chards a few years ago, it has always been an ambition of ours to own the land as well, so when the opportunity arose we jumped at the chance. As well as making good commercial sense, we wanted to have an asset that would secure the future of the business.

“We have worked with HSBC since 2002 and in that time the team has always been very supportive of our business and have a good understanding of the nature of what we do, giving us the confidence to both grow and adapt the company in years to come.”

Ian and his sister, Julia used a dedicated funding package from HSBC in 2010 when they undertook a management buy-out from their father who had run the business for 15 years.

James Shepherd, Area Director for Bristol, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire, said: “Our relationship with Bowland Stone spans more than 15 years and in that time we’ve seen the business go from strength-to-strength. HSBC has a thorough understanding of the industry and the company’s evolving finance requirements and this latest round of funding is testament to its ongoing success.”

As well as manufacturing hard landscaping materials such as decorative paving slabs, patio kits, path edgings and stepping stones, Bowland Stone bags decorative aggregate products - such as gravel, chippings and rockery - across its two sites in St George and Henbury. The business has plans to consolidate the two sites into one manufacturing and distribution facility in the next 18 to 24 months.

Picture caption: Left to right: Julia Russell, Bowland Stone; Michael Bobroff, HSBC; and Ian Elston, Bowland Stone.