Sheffield home and garden firm plants seeds for growth with £150k NPIF fund

A Sheffield-based supplier of branded homewares, garden and gift products, has secured a £150k loan from NPIF - Enterprise Ventures Debt Finance, part of the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund.

IC Innovations produces a range of home, garden and gift products, from BBC Good Food kitchen tools and electricals to Christmas products under The Snowman brand, and now supplies over 6,000 retail outlets across the UK.

The business will use the funding to support its expansion programme, as well as help with meeting the increased stock requirements following the recent contract with its new BBC Gardeners’ World product ranges.

The company employs 18 staff at its Sheffield headquarters and has distribution centres in Nottingham and Derby, with Far East offices in Shanghai and Guangzhou in China.

IC Innovations plans to create a further 10 skilled jobs in the coming year.

The business was founded in 2004 by current managing director Tristan Cowell, who had invented Card HangUps, a product for displaying Christmas cards.

Peter Sorsby, investment manager at Enterprise Ventures, part of Mercia Technologies PLC, commented: “IC Innovations is a real success story which shows how a company which started out with one product can expand rapidly and become a trusted partner to big brands by identifying and fulfilling customer needs.

“The company now manages a global supply chain and has built expertise across the whole process from product design to quality control, packaging, shipping and fulfilling orders. This funding will provide additional working capital to help Tristan and his team scale up their operation.”

Grant Peggie, director at British Business Bank, said: “NPIF’s debt finance fund has been incredibly well received by the local business community and is already making a real difference to ambitious companies looking to take the next step on their growth journey.

“This latest funding provides IC Innovations with the finance it needs to expand and create new jobs.”