Husband and wife team grow plant display business with Northern Powerhouse cash

Plant display business Inleaf is expanding with a six-figure boost from the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund (NPIF).

The Lancashire-based company used the £150k loan to take on an additional member of staff, order new vans and set up a franchise.

Since the loan, obtained through NPIF – FW Capital Debt Finance, a product fund managed by investment firm FW Capital, Inleaf has also secured new contracts worth over £50k.

Inleaf employs a team of five at its office in Buckshaw Village.

The company provides plant displays and living wall installations for public spaces and business environments such as offices, hotels and car dealerships.

Husband and wife team Charlotte and Daniel Atherton established Inleaf three years ago.

Director Daniel said: “The business has grown quite significantly since we started and with Christmas coming we’ve also had lots of requests for festive installations so it was crucial that we were able to cope with the increased demand.”

Inleaf was initially helped by Growth Lancashire and signposted to Prakash Patel of support service Access to Finance, who referred them to FW Capital senior investment executive Andy Traynor.

Andy commented: “Inleaf is a fantastic business which has taken an opportunity and run with it.

“The management team are very experienced and our loan will help them with the capital they need to grow.”

Prakash Patel at Access to Finance said: “After the first meeting it was clear that the business had significant opportunity to grow following the successes achieved by the management team in the last 12 months.

“They have the right combination of management and industry experience which has led to their significant rate of growth.”

The NPIF is run by the British Business Bank.

Sue Barnard, senior relationship manager for the bank, said: “We are pleased that NPIF has supported Inleaf with the funding it needs to achieve its growth targets.

“It’s great to see that by working with the growth hubs, fund managers are able to seek out these ambitious businesses and provide the vital funding they need to expand and boost the economy across the Lancashire region.”

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