Doncaster soft-play manufacturer grows turnover to £1.4m with Enhancement Project support

A Doncaster-based manufacturer of indoor playground and soft-play equipment has almost doubled turnover with the help of a five-figure investment.

House of Play secured £15k funding with support from Business Doncaster, partner of the Sheffield City Region Growth Hub Enhancement Project.

The firm has since celebrated a record 12 months that saw sales rise 86.7% to £1.4m in 2018, up from £750k the year previous.

House of Play put the £15k towards new equipment and staff, growing its team from 20 to 30 employees.

Through the Enhancement Project, House of Play received one-to-one support from an account manager and accessed free masterclasses delivered by private sector experts.

The company was founded in 1994 and today installs in excess of 1,000 play frames annually around the world.

House of Play director Kevin Bowles said: “The ongoing support we’ve received from Business Doncaster has been fantastic! Sue, our key account manager, immediately got to know our current operation, delved into what we needed and understood what avenues could be available for us.

“After speaking to Business Doncaster one of the biggest changes for me is that we began to think like a bigger business right away, allowing us to review our processes and make some real improvements to our systems.”

He added: “2018 has been our most successful year to date and I look forward to continuing to work closely with Business Doncaster as we push for further expansion.”

The Enhancement Project is financed by the England European Regional Development Fund.

Key account manager Sue Harrison commented: “It’s excellent to see the growth that House of Play has achieved following the investment they received and, having taken on more staff, we’re delighted that the regional economy has also benefitted significantly.”