Last year, despite the ongoing turmoil, we recruited a variety of new clients across Scotland as many businesses felt they weren’t getting the right level of support elsewhere.
One of those clients was M-Line International Coaches Ltd, a family business with over 30 years of experience in coach holidays. Like all businesses involved with travel, the COVID-19 pandemic has had a devastating effect on the company since March 2020.
Managing Director of M-Line International Coaches Ltd, Tom Matchett, commented,
“At the end of 2019/start of 2020, our holiday bookings for the 2020 Season were building nicely. Then as news of the pandemic started to effect European countries, we started to see some of our bookings being cancelled. Our tours of Scotland are very popular with American tourists and due to the impact on travel, all our bookings were then cancelled within a short period of time. Looking at an impossible task to survive without holiday bookings, we had to look at our business structure and make it more streamlined.”
The company decided early on that they would downsize their premises and by selling their property they were able to clear their loan debt and realise some cash. The company then looked at its fleet and decided to sell vehicles that were no longer needed and requested finance payment holidays and refinanced other agreements on the remaining vehicles. Tom also sought new revenue streams, seeking contract work to replace some of his cashflow that comes from the holiday tours.
In order to retain their staff, they utilised the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) to keep their full time staff’s jobs safe and once flexible furlough was introduced, they were able to welcome staff back part time for the local work they had been able to secure.
Tom continues,
“We felt our existing accountants were not providing us with the support we needed so we got in touch with EQ Accountants and found that they were instantly more responsive and have offered advice on changes the company could make which has ensured we are still trading today. Steven helped us make a grant claim under the Coach Operators fund which will provide much needed cashflow for the business until we exit lockdown and can go back to operating close to our usual level. This will make such a difference to us and I can’t thank EQ enough for the support they’ve given us so far.”
Steven Todd, Partner in our Glenrothes office, added,
“It’s been a difficult year for businesses up and down the country, but especially for those in the tourism sector. When I started working with Tom, he had already taken several steps to ensure his business survival and in his mind, the move to EQ was another required step. Since we have engaged with Tom, we have brought his accounting records up to date, provided payroll and CJRS claim support, provided advice in relation to COVID-19 support including grant claims and have made ourselves available to discuss concerns Tom has had with the business. Over a short period of time we have built up a good relationship and hopefully as the country opens up again, we will be able to support the future success of the company.”
M-Line are now accepting holiday bookings, and you can view their range of packages and discuss Coach Hire bookings via https://www.m-line.co.uk/
For more information on how we are supporting our clients, or how we can help you or your clients, please get in touch with your usual EQ contact or call one of our offices.