Five-figure Momentum Loan helps Castleford Lock Lane beat trying times
A West Yorkshire rugby club was coping with outdated, temperamental equipment. But after a Business Enterprise Fund loan, its owners can tackle even the biggest bookings.
Even in this always-online world we live in now, some places still keep the spirit of real community alive. Opened in 1998, Castleford Lock Lane Rugby League and Sports Club isn’t just home to the mighty Lock Lane ARLFC. It’s part of the fabric of a thriving West Yorkshire town.
The club hosts everything from first aid training to birthday parties. Coaching qualification courses to boxing shows to majorette and urban dance classes. From NHS group meetings to free exercise classes for the over-60s. And let’s not forget their sports repertoire, which covers Rugby League, wheelchair rugby, netball, five-a-side football, and indoor bowling to name but a few.
It’s all going on, and Lisa Bibb has been here for every moment of it. Lisa has helped oversee the club’s operations since the beginning, 28 years ago. A Castleford native, community and rugby are in her DNA. She’s even married to former Great Britain player, Chris Bibb.
When something risks disrupting the day-to-day running of the club, it’s up to Lisa to put it right. By early 2025, the site’s main boiler was getting increasingly problematic. Small wonder, since it had been in operation for nearly three decades.
Not only were parts getting rarer and more expensive to replace, its age was pushing insurance premiums through the roof. Lisa knew the boiler was one major malfunction away from shutting down the whole club. Alongside her team, she decided to apply for a Small Business Loan.
“We were referred to the Business Enterprise Fund by a broker, Mark Tudor,” she explains. “He’d been a sponsor in the past, so we had a good relationship with him. Working with BEF was straightforward. No issues whatsoever. If I had any queries, they were all handled through one investment manager.”
“With the new boiler, our insurance has pretty much halved. We’ve saved about £8,000 per year, which for a nonprofit company is a lot of money. It’s not easy getting loans as a nonprofit. I don’t know where else we’d have got these funds from, to be fair. We’d have been struggling.”
Mark Iley, Senior Investment Manager at Business Enterprise Fund, reflected on the successful application process: “Organisations like this make a big positive impact. They’re real centres of community that bring people together in celebration and competition. When they close, local groups often start to struggle.”
“Being able to facilitate this loan represents a win for the whole town of Castleford. Our mission is to invest in underserved areas of the UK, helping people fight to keep their local areas feeling vibrant. This is a big step in the right direction.”
With their newly upgraded heating system, the club is steadily getting busier. Bookings for their much-loved function space are filling up with baby showers, wedding anniversaries, 18th birthday parties, you name it.
Now, the future is bright, secure, and sustainable for Lisa and her team. Deep local business knowledge plus a bit of fearless team spirit? That’s always a champion combination.