Member Article

NORTH East company goes from start up to success story

A NORTH East ink company has gone from start up to success story with help from a leading venture capital firm.

Mexar Ltd, at Whitehouse Road Industrial Estate, Newcastle, was founded in 2008 with support from Newcastle-based Northstar Ventures, which invested £90,000 towards its start-up costs in 2008.

The investment has now been repaid in full, and the company, which manufactures water based inkjet inks for textile printing, is firmly at the forefront of the digital printing industry.

Mexar, founded by Roger Tirrell and Andy Hancock, now employs three full time staff and has a turnover of £500,000, thanks to sales of its products throughout the UK and overseas.

“The funding we received from Northstar through its initial Proof of Concept Fund was crucial to the development of Mexar,” said Roger. “Northstar made the process straightforward and were extremely helpful and supportive.”

“The funding has enabled us to do a number of things, including buying the specialist equipment we needed to manufacture our products, and to tap into the overseas markets which have been instrumental in the growth of the company.”

Michelle Cooper, investment manager at Northstar, said: “We had faith in Mexar from the outset and it is proof of the importance to the region and, in this case, wider economy, of investing in start-up businesses.

“Thanks to that investment, jobs have been created and a business has gone from scratch to become a significant success.”

Northstar is currently investing two funds – the Finance for Business North East Accelerator and Proof of Concept Funds. Both Funds are backed by the European Regional Development Fund and the European Investment Bank.

For further information about funding opportunities available through Northstar Ventures, call 0191 229 2770 or visit www.northstarventures.co.uk

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by HFPR .