Stoke Park Finance Limited was formed in July 1992 under the name of Aquamin Company (UK) Limited following the introduction to a Russian professor and two engineers who developed the water purification system used on the Russian Salyut series of manned space shuttles. On the demise of the old USSR they were free to Market the technology in the west. This was the original Reverse Osmosis process, a membrane technology filtration system. Better not go into too much detail but I am sure you know that space was at a premium and therefore all water used was reprocessed on board!
We brought the three Russians to Bristol where a demonstration was given to ten of the top UK water companies. There was substantial interest in the product but the cheapest unit at that point was a trailer mounted system which required to retail at £250,000. This figure was beyond our funding capabilities and the water companies would not commit to any assistance. In reality they wanted the system on site in the UK for a minimum of 6 to 12 months before committing.
The Russians were concerned that the UK businesses would seek to use this period to strip down the mechanics of the system and copy it. This was an unfounded concern as the secret was in the membrane, not the machine itself.
Unfortunately, we were unable to complete the deal with the Russians and they proceeded to sell it to the Arab countries where it turned out to be very successful both in desalination and water purification. You can’t win them all!
Stoke Park Finance Limited
By company founder, Ronnie Allan
The name was then changed to Stoke Park Finance Limited and was merged with my sole trader business, Stoke Park Investments. This was in the early 1990’s following the recession. SPF then proceeded to purchase used contractors plant and equipment from the banks who were anxious to dispose of it at any price without knowing the real value. The plant was then rented to contractors in the South West with an option to purchase if they met the terms. Needless to say, it was all sold within a four year period and this gave SPF the seed capital in the early stages to enter the broker market.
Stoke Park Finance Limited hit the ground running.
I had a contact at Albion Automotive (the old Leyland DAF business) who asked me to assist in the buy-out of the main Albion plant in Glasgow and also in Leyland, and other contacts and business interests within the bus and coach industry and also the classic car industry which I had built up over the years. We plan to continue to develop our core markets whilst also expanding into new areas. We have a friendly and good humoured working environment and have the ability to support our customer base in all aspects of the finance and related markets. This can be demonstrated by the wealth of experience and educational base of SPF directors and staff.
Our aim is to provide you, at all times, with a first class standard of service. However there may be occasions when you feel that this objective has not been achieved. For more information please see the following link:
Dealing With Your Complaint
