With eight showrooms located throughout Glasgow and Ayrshire, The Designer Rooms is a one-stop-shop offering exclusive furniture collections and home décor accessories for dining rooms, bedrooms, living areas and gardens. Each showroom showcases its own unique collections, with products sourced from all over the world – most of which are unavailable anywhere else in the UK.

Established in 2010, the family-run company employs more than 70 members of staff – many of which have been with the company since the very beginning.

Forced to close its doors during lockdown, the funding boost from Royal Bank of Scotland allowed the business to keep all employees on board. It also assisted with cashflow at the height of the pandemic, enabling the firm to purchase essential stock for all pre-committed orders.

As the company looks to build back profitability following the pandemic, expansion remains a key focus. With two new retail stores currently in the pipeline, the funding has enabled the business to forge ahead with their pre-lockdown expansion plans.

Ryan Campbell, owner, said: “At an incredibly uncertain and challenging time, Royal Bank of Scotland quickly stepped in to set up the support we needed to keep going during the pandemic. Thanks to them and our accountant, John Gilardi, the whole process was seamless and really helped to ease the financial pressure we felt during lockdown.

“We’re very fortunate to have such a strong and loyal team of employees behind us at The Designer Rooms. Ten years and eight stores later, none of this would be possible without our team, so we’re thrilled to say the funding allowed us to retain all our staff; and it also enabled us to build and replenish our stock collections so we were in a prime position to re-open all of our showrooms when it was safe to do so.

“Since reopening we have experienced an overwhelming demand from customers who used the down-time to renovate their homes and gardens. As we continue to look ahead to the post-COVID-19 recovery period, expansion remains very much the key focus for the business, with two new store openings planned for the near future and a forecasted turnover of £17m in 2021.”

Craig Hillis, relationship manager, RBS, added: “The last six months have been a worrying and challenging period for all business owners, however It’s rewarding to know that our support has helped ease the concerns of everyone at The Designer Rooms.

“As the economy gradually gets moving again, I look forward to continue working with and supporting Ryan and his family and watching the company grow.”