Stockport lender Together has provided a £1.22 million facility to former Dragons’ Den star Jenny Campbell for her latest investment.
The entrepreneur, who sold her ATM company YourCash for £50 million, is going into business with her son, Tom, to develop a £2.6 million housing scheme in the East Midlands.
A former banker, Jenny admitted they had initially struggled to access the quick finance they wanted to complete the project. She said:
We went to two high street lenders but it was hard to get the finance we wanted quickly. They had very formal processes and a ‘tick box’ approach to follow before they’d release the funding.
“What we were looking for was a more hands-on approach from a lender who wanted to understand our business and our plans for the scheme, as well as build a long-term relationship with Tom as a funding partner for future projects.”
Jenny and son Tom, a real estate graduate, launched their property business two years ago, partnering with building Collin Russon, under the name Russon-Campbell Developments. Following the funding from Stockport lender Together, the housing scheme is due to be completed in 2021. Tom said:
This finance has helped us seize a great opportunity. It’s been a dream of mine to build houses since as long as I can remember. My great-great grandfather and his father were in the construction trade and I’ve been really inspired by that.
“The business partnership with my mum is working really well and we are already looking at other projects to take on after we’ve completed the current housing development.”
Jonathan Sally, lending director at Together, reviewed the proposed new build development of two detached and three terraced homes in Oundle, near Peterborough. He said:
When this case came to us, we saw huge potential. Jenny has a fantastic business reputation and we were very confident that this, backed up by Collin’s experience and Tom’s passion, will make the project a roaring success.”
Ex-Dragon Jenny was born in Hyde, Greater Manchester and left Manchester High School for Girls aged 16 to take up her first job counting cash in a bank. She attended night school, gaining banking qualifications, before moving to London.
In 2010 she led a buy-out of Hanco ATM Systems, later re-named the company YourCash, and sold it to US business Euronet in 2016.
Jenny, a former businesswoman of the year, joined Dragons’ Den in 2017 alongside Peter Jones, Deborah Meaden, Tej Lalvani and Touker Souleman, investing her money in five companies.
Image: (L-R) Stockport lender Together’s Jonathan Sally, Jenny Campbell, Collin Russon and Tom Campbell on site.