A Gwent-based sport nutrition company founded by two sporting heroes has secured a contract with GNC Group, owned by Holland & Barratt, to supply 45 stores following support from Lloyds Bank.

Pro Athlete Supplementation, which is based in Rhymney, provides the Newport Gwent Dragons, among other well-known UK clubs, with drinks and supplements which fully comply with professional sporting policies.

The production and supply company was established in 2006 by Jon Williams, the Welsh Rugby Union’s squad nutritionist, as well as Darren Campbell, Olympic gold medallist and current sprint coach for Cardiff City FC.

PAS has since gone on to turnover £750,000 and following its newly-secured contract is expecting this to double next year.

To support its increase in orders, Lloyds Bank has provided PAS with credit cards and an asset-based finance facility, which has helped to optimise cashflow to support growth ambitions.

Last year it provided substantial funding, in addition to a Cardnet facility, which enables the business to receive payments easily following a switch from another banking provider.

Darren Campbell, director of PAS, said: “We supply many national sporting teams but to extend our reach in to the retail sector is a great step forward and we are positive that there are more opportunities on the horizon.

“We switched our business to Lloyds Bank last year, as our previous provider wasn’t offering the company the support it needed. We wanted a partner that would provide facilities to grow alongside the firm and its ambitions.”

Alun Bevan, relationship manager, Lloyds Bank Commercial Banking, said: “We could see Darren and Jon’s vision from the moment they approached us. It’s great that we have been able to fulfil the growth aims of PAS and provide cross-bank support.

“We continue to offer a discount of one per cent to all SMEs for the life of their loans as part of the Government-backed Funding for Lending Scheme, to support growing companies, such as PAS. In fact the cost of borrowing to our customers has more than halved since 2007, helping Britain prosper.”