How a flower shop flourished with a Government-backed loan – a small business story

A leading UK florist, Flower Station found themselves having to pivot their operations online when their stores had to close during lockdown. We caught up with Director and Founder, David Cohen, to learn more about this and other challenges he’s faced over the years, and how he’s used his Funding Circle business loan to launch new brands and grow his business.

Flower Station’s story

What does your business do?

Flower Station provides lovingly hand-crafted bouquets at affordable prices, delivered using our same day fleet. Our flagship flower shop operates from Park Road in North London, providing a 24/7 flower delivery service to our customers all over the capital.

How did the business come to be?

I set up our first location about 20 years ago. I lived above this disused petrol station and I had this crazy idea of creating a drive-through florist. So I enquired about the land, spent some time planning how it would work and learning about the floristry business. I then started setting up shop and that’s how Flower Station came to be.

How has your business evolved over time?

It’s been a really tough and mixed journey. The first 3 years I was losing money but, each year, I managed to halve what I was losing. Now, we’ve gone from 5 to 70 people, increased the turnover substantially and opened new shops. Making a profit is really tough in this business, so it’s taken a lot to get us here.

What has been your biggest challenge?

It’s difficult to expand a business in our industry. Take a £50 bouquet for example — once you take off VAT, rent, rates, congestion charge for delivery and all our other overheads, there’s only a very small amount that’s profitable. 

If the florist puts too many flowers in that bouquet, or there’s a complaint, you lose money very quickly. Getting so many people on board with our vision, whether they’re drivers or florists, is difficult, and bringing these elements together has been our biggest challenge.

Adapting your business in the coronavirus pandemic

How has the pandemic affected your business?

Initially, we had to close our stores, but in its place, our online business started really ramping up. We were nervous about how we kept our staff safe, but there was an appetite to work and we looked carefully at all the measures. Looking back, it was the best decision we could have made because our online business quadrupled, more than making up for the store closures.

How have you adapted?

When our online sales peaked, we put as much money into that side of the business as we could. We also branched out rather than specialising, doing everything from weddings to office plant contracts, and providing guaranteed same day delivery on orders up to 6pm in London.

Using a Government-backed loan to fund your business

What are you using your loan for?

We’ve used our loan to develop a number of brands, like building websites for Love Rose, which offers high-end, preserved roses, and Letterbuds, a subscription service to receive budded flowers through your letterbox. We also used our funds to complete work on our online flower school, which offers video lessons to help customers learn how to arrange their flowers.

Why did you choose Funding Circle?

I had a great experience when I used Funding Circle previously, so I decided to go back when we needed more funds. I’ve been happy with the rates and they ticked all the boxes for our business’ financial needs.

How was the process of getting a loan?

It was really straightforward. The problem with getting finance is that it’s generally a lengthy process and, very often, you don’t end up getting what you want. I didn’t experience that at all with Funding Circle. Everything was clear and easy, and that’s what you need when you’re looking for finance. I’ve got loads of things going on at any one time, and  I just want to feel like things are progressing. Funding Circle allowed me to do that. 

If you’d like to join David and over 100,000 businesses who’ve chosen us for finance, you can check your eligibility in just 30 seconds.