A Bristol online platform specialising in vintage jewellery sales has been able to expand thanks to successive funding from SWIG Finance.
Husband-and-wife team Simon Green and Stacey Lillico founded Lillicoco in 2016 as a platform to make antique jewellery accessible and affordable for all. The business has now received £250k in funding from the Community Investment Enterprise Fund (CIEF) to grow the business by investing in more stock and professional imagery, as well as restructuring existing debt to reduce outgoing payments and free up working capital.
Simon Green, Managing Director, and Stacey Lillico, Creative Director – Lillicoco
CIEF is a £10 million facility funded by Triodos Bank and Better Society Capital. It has been made available to SWIG Finance via fund manager Social Investment Scotland to support more micro and small businesses (MSMEs) in the South and West Country. This funding forms a part of a larger, now £72 million investment initiative, which aims to support MSMEs across England and Wales, bolstering local employment opportunities and economic growth.
The £250k cash injection comes six years after the couple successfully applied through SWIG Finance for a £20k Start Up Loan to expand how much jewellery was available on the website and increase sales.
When the business launched, Simon was 23 and had recently graduated from university. “I was working in a sales environment and was either in the office or on the road – I wasn’t at home much,” he recalls. “After 12 months, I knew I’d rather be running my own business than working for something else. Stacey, meanwhile, was keen for us to spend more time with each other in pursuit of a joint interest.”
Stacey had 10 years’ experience in the jewellery sector, both in high-end retail and with insurance companies, valuing lost or stolen items from descriptions given by the owners. Fascinated by the rich history behind period jewellery, she built up her own personal collection while gaining professional qualifications with the National Association of Jewellers (NAJ) and the Gemmological Institute of America (GIA).
She is now the creative director of Lillicoco, in charge of buying and marketing. Jewellery from a wide range of styles and eras is sourced from private sellers, auctions and fairs around the UK, each piece chosen carefully for quality and condition.
The couple had spotted a clear gap in the market for online antique jewellery sales in an era before vintage clothing websites became mainstream, but Lillicoco proved a tough pitch for lenders.
“We had a perfect record as a business, have always grown and been consistently good, but lenders were reluctant due to a perceived theft risk, and we had no assets other than our stock to put up as collateral,” says Simon, who as MD handles financials, operations and personnel (the company employs 14 staff). “We needed a lender who could take a view on the trajectory of the business, which is where SWIG Finance came in.”
A high-street bank loan and investments from family and friends had funded the company’s “baby steps”, but for a larger cash injection, Simon searched the internet for “small business loans SW” and discovered the Start Up Loans scheme.
The British Business Bank’s Start Up Loans scheme offers personal loans of up to £25,000 per director and free mentoring to help anyone start or grow a new or early-stage business.
SWIG Finance is the British Business Bank’s Business Support Partner for the government-backed programme in the South West, and last year alone delivered £7.2 million in Start Up Loan funding to over 400 new and early-stage businesses.
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“It was great,” Simon enthuses. “We didn’t have much of a sales record at the time, so it was more of a vibe-based loan, how they felt about us and the business. It worked well.”
Six years later, the couple returned to borrow £250,000 from the Community Investment Enterprise Fund (CIEF), of which £110,000 provided working capital with the remainder used to refinance existing debt.
“The way I’ve always viewed it is as cash going into the business like fuel in an engine,” Simon explains. “With investment, you can buy stock, pay for new tech, hire people – all of which speeds up growth and profit. The CIEF loan was fundamental in pushing that growth.”
It’s all heading in the right direction: in 2018, Lillicoco achieved £75k sales online, while last year it turned over £1.8m – 20 times more. Simon has ambitious plans to double in size over the next two to three years, putting more higher-value stock and specialist collections on the website.
SWIG Finance business manager Rachael Taylor says: “With an increase in people repurposing old jewellery to make modern pieces, Lillicoco highlights the beauty and workmanship in vintage jewellery. Stacey and Simon show a clear passion for their business and have produced a comprehensive plan for business growth.”
The pair were referred to SWIG Finance by finance broker Shaun Elliott at Aim Financial Solutions. “Lillicoco is an exciting business with strong growth ambitions,” he said. “After reviewing their plans and funding requirements, it was clear SWIG Finance was a great fit. It was a real team effort, and I’m pleased to have worked in close partnership with Rachael Taylor at SWIG to ensure the business received the right support at the right time.”
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About SWIG Finance
SWIG Finance is a people-based lender that provides loans and support to help smaller businesses in the South and West Country grow. We base our lending decisions on potential rather than collateral, which means that we can often support businesses when others can't.
We’re growing every year. In 2024/25, we lent £14.8m to 501 businesses, helping to create and secure over 1,272 jobs and generate £75.7m in social impact. Download the report here.
If you’d like an informal chat about your funding requirements, get in touch with our friendly and professional team to see how we can help: info@swigfinance.co.uk / 01872 227 930