A gin distillery has secured £250,000 of investment to scale-up its operations and create new jobs.
Burleighs Gin has won the finance from the Midlands Engine Investment Fund (MEIF), which will help it take on five full-time sales and operations jobs.
The new editions will help the business develop its gin range and launch two new products that are in the pipeline.
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Burleighs, which has a distillery in the Charnwood Forest, near Loughborough, is the official gin partner of Leicester City Football Club, Leicester Tigers and the King Richard III foundation and makes a variety of gins including one inspired by Marilyn Monroe.
Management recently told BusinessLive that while sales to pubs and bars dropped off when the pandemic hit, deliveries to shops and online had done well.
Last year a crowdfund campaign was heavily oversubscribed bringing in £130,000 from 260 investors who gained a 5.25 per cent stake in the business. The campaign valued the business at £2.3 million.
The MEIF package was provided by The FSE Group and backed by the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS).
As well as launching new products the funding will allow the company to build export sales in Europe and the Far East, and further plans to expand into the United States.
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Chirag Mistry, fund manager at The FSE Group, which manages the MEIF Debt Finance Fund, said: “We are proud to have supported Burleighs Gin with its expansion plans.
“The job creation will have a positive impact on the local economy and further strengthen the future of the business.
“Through the Midlands Engine Investment Fund, The FSE Group is committed to providing finance for innovative Midlands’ businesses with the potential to grow.”
Burleighs Gin commercial director Sam Watson said: “These are exciting times for Burleighs Gin as we have a clear vision as to where we wish to take our business.
“We are aiming to expand the brand overseas and continue to grow in the 海角视频.
“We are due to launch two new marketing campaigns to support the forthcoming product launches and would like to extend our thanks to Chirag, at The FSE Group, for helping us to source the funding which will enable the business to pursue its growth ambitions and keep the day-to-day sales, distribution and operations fluid whilst we look to the future.”
Lewis Stringer, senior manager at the British Business Bank, said: “We’d encourage other businesses in the Midlands looking for finance for growth to consider the options available through the MEIF.”
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Kevin Harris, who chairs the Leicester and Leicestershire Enterprise Partnership Limited, said: “It is great to see a growing Leicestershire business receive this type of funding through MEIF.
“The £250,000 investment will help Burleighs Gin to expand and reach its full potential, which is exactly what the fund was set up to achieve.
“Burleighs Gin is proof that despite the current economic climate, those businesses that can see a global future for their products have many opportunities to thrive, and I wish them every success with establishing its brand in these new markets.”
The Midlands Engine Investment Fund project is supported by the European Union and CBILS is managed by the British Business Bank on behalf of the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and industrial Strategy (BEIS).
The deadline for CBILS applications has been extended to March 31 for 海角视频 businesses.