Hebden Bridge fashion firm peddles garments across Europe

Ed Oxley of HebTroCo has embarked on the 1000-mile journey through Copenhagen, Berlin, Rotterdam and finishing in Shipley, on an electric assisted Bullitt cargo bike. The firm bought two new bikes with a £7,600 finance package from Lloyds Bank Commercial Banking.

Ed’s packed the bike with the brands’ trousers, jackets, boots and belts, which will all be auctioned for charity at events along the journey.

The bike can carry up to 70 pairs of trousers at a time and will be used to ferry online orders from the firm’s stockroom to the post office without harming the environment.

HebTroCo sells British manufactured menswear items including jackets made from Leeds wool, boots from Derbyshire and other paraphernalia including Sheffield pen knives.

The firm began trading in January 2016 following a successful Kickstarter campaign, where it sold 176 pairs of trousers in just five hours. It went on to sell 2,000 pairs of trousers in its first year alone.

The business now aims to triple its turnover to half a million pounds this year after Lloyds Bank supported the firm with a £25,000 finance package.

Hebden Bridge used to be known as ‘Trouser Town’ because of its long history in clothing manufacturing. In its heyday, up to 20,000 pairs of trousers would be produced in the town a week.

Brant Richards, director at HebTroCo said: “There’s a lot of interest overseas for high-quality British made clothing, which is why Ed’s going the extra mile to put trousers from Trouser Town itself before a European audience.

“Ed and I come from a background of high end bicycles. I used to design them and Ed taught people how to ride them. In our new lives as menswear brand owners we have developed a love for more utilitarian bikes.

“The support from Lloyds Bank, in buying the new Bullitts and helping us with our working capital, has been crucial in turning what was once an idea coined in the pub to a growing fashion brand.”

Natalie Hancock, relationship manager at Lloyds Bank, said: “HebTroCo is a brand that’s packed with character, which has high-quality, long lasting clothing at its core too.

“Supporting firms like this is central to Lloyds Bank’s mission to help Britain prosper, which is why we’ve increased our net lending to SMEs by 32% over the last six years.”