We were taken to the cleaners recently. Mr Vanish Patel wanted to show us all the potential that he had identified with his business, so he took us to his premises on Tower Bridge Road in South London for us to gain an insight into his dry cleaning facilities. But, we had to come clean. We already knew a lot about the hospitality and laundry markets.

That’s why he approached us in the first place. Johnson Reed worked with Mr Patel some time ago, with finance arrangements for his original dry cleaning business. He understands the advantages of using our laundry lease finance and this has allowed him to open his second site. With a three-year loan of £52,335, he’s been able to invest in the very latest in dry cleaning technology.

Even though this was quite a large deal, we didn’t have to make a charge on his property and we could supply exactly the kit that he needed to offer a professional fabrics and clothing cleaning facility. All rentals of this kind are fully tax-deductible and he can simply pay us back as he uses his new kit. He can now plan his budgets and look forward to thinking about his next venture.

And what a great name for someone who runs a cleaning business. We’re already working on straplines for his marketing collateral: ‘Come to Vanish and your stains will disappear!’ All right, maybe it’s better for us to stick with finance rather than trying to break into the advertising business.