A Cornwall sustainable furniture brand has received a £200,000 loan from the Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Investment Fund, managed by The FSE Group.
Redruth-based Hart Miller Design creates furniture for work, education and social spaces. It has said it will use the funds to support the growth of its Made and Realised in Kernow (MARK) Product brand.
The company's MARK furniture has been used in the offices of multinational corporates including the BBC, EY, Fujitsu and Arsenal FC. Hart Miller has spent three years developing its manufacturing and operating model. It is working towards B Corp certification in 2023.
Demand for MARK products is also being driven by changes to workspaces as they evolve to fit the post-covid hybrid model, according to the brand.
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Anna Hart, co-founder of Hart Miller Design, said: “As more large companies seek ethical and sustainable transparency from their suppliers, we are seeing increased demand for our high-quality designs. Our new Otto laptop table received significant pre-orders so building capacity to ensure delivery is central to our growth strategy. It can be difficult to obtain funding based on future sales so we are delighted to have secured this CIOSIF loan, which allows us to increase resources and provides working capital to support new contract wins.”
Tim Williams, investment manager at The FSE Group, added: “This is a resilient business that has overcome the considerable challenges posed by covid, built a track record for quality and reliability and developed a pipeline of innovative products to meet changing market demand. It is now in a strong position to take advantage of a recovering sector that is increasingly seeking high-calibre products with genuine sustainability credentials.”
The £40m Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Investment Fund provides debt and equity finance from £25,000 to £2m to help growing small businesses across the region. It has been established by the British Business Bank in partnership with the Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP).
Paul Jones, senior investment manager from the British Business Bank said: “Sustainable growth is part of our core mission and Hart Miller Design is an exemplar business which has embraced the concept of a circular economy and put it into practice. I’m delighted that this CIOSIF loan will further those objectives.”
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