One-stop furnishing solution for the residential property sector will create eight new jobs following investment
The Greater Manchester Loan Fund (“GMLF”), managed by Maven Capital Partners (“Maven”), has completed its 32nd deal investing £500,000 in Manchester-based LOFT Interiors (“LOFT”), a leading supplier in furniture solutions for the broad residential property sector. Funding will be used to support the continued development of LOFT’s operations, product, and team, to facilitate growth opportunities in existing and new markets. With over 80 staff already operating from LOFT’s offices in Manchester and London, the investment is expected to create eight new jobs in the region.
Founded in 2003, LOFT supplies design-led furniture and accessories to the Build to Rent (BTR) and Build to Let (BTL) sectors, student accommodation, and landlords and estate agents, furnishing large scale residential projects, as well as providing individual items, and caters for different price points from budget to premium. Now working with some of the biggest developers and contractors in the property sector, with a strong pipeline of projects with industry leading companies, LOFT is quickly becoming one of the most recognised suppliers of bespoke furniture solutions across the North West.
LOFT’s underlying markets are exhibiting growth. In residential, BTR and BTS have benefitted from a recent £65 million investment from the government, while BTR has been further boosted by the creation of a £2.5 billion Government guarantee scheme, which has been designed to encourage further institutional investment in the sector. The fundamental attractiveness of buy-to-let remains, supported by the introduction of the Government Capital Grant programme, will see an investment of £5bn for the Housing Infrastructure Fund, which will help unlock new homes in areas with the greatest housing demand.
LOFT’s Co-Founder and Managing Director, Benjamin Hall, has spent 15 years growing the business with his Father, Co-Founder and Director, Robert Hall. Together they have built an effective brand with a strong position in the market, delivering growth through customers across the UK. Benjamin and Robert Hall are supported by a skilled Senior Leadership Team, including Dan Smith, Head of Landlord & Agency, Alec McKenzie, Project Sales Director, Tom Hindley, Head of Operations, Leona Kay, Commercial Director and Debbie Smith, Finance Director.
Gavin Bell, Investment Manager at Maven, said, “We are delighted to support LOFT with this investment. This is an established, dynamic business and Ben and his team are driven and passionate individuals, focused on the exciting future growth opportunities in their markets. We look forward to working with LOFT to assist their ambitious growth plans.
“A significant investment for the Fund, GMLF has now invested over £15 million to support the creation of over 400 jobs in the Greater Manchester area. We continue to actively encourage local businesses with exciting growth plans to get in touch with the Maven team.”
Benjamin Hall, Managing Director of LOFT said “I am proud to have taken the company from start-up to a turnover of £10 million in 15 years using just a £15,000 student loan as start-up capital. There is a growing demand in our target markets for a design-led approach and we will continue to evaluate the needs of both developers and end users to evolve the products and ensure the growing range meets their requirements. The investment from Maven will allow LOFT to invest in our brands and support the company on its growth trajectory.”
Debbie Smith, Finance Director of LOFT, said “We are delighted to have secured the support and investment from Maven. The investment from Maven will allow LOFT to continue to grow and expand taking advantage of the numerous exciting opportunities in the property sector and allow LOFT to achieve its goals and reach its full potential.”
Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham said: “Greater Manchester has always led the way in driving innovation, manufacture and construction – we are the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution, after all. We pride ourselves on working with new ambitious and creative new businesses and industries to help them flourish.
“Through the fund and the investment announced today, we are demonstrating Greater Manchester’s ambition and commitment to doing things differently, working with local firms to help them grow and create jobs and opportunities for local people.”
Launched in August 2013 by the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA), GMLF was established to provide flexible finance solutions to businesses throughout the region to encourage growth while creating and safeguarding jobs. Managed by Maven, the Fund has invested over £15 million in 32 local businesses creating over 400 new jobs. With millions of pounds still available to help fund growth, ambitious Manchester-based small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are urged to take advantage of the Fund offering finance between £100,000 and £750,000 with the potential for follow-on funding to qualifying companies. The Fund will be open to new investments until 2020.
DTE Business Advisers (Manchester) undertook the financial due-diligence and Pannone Corporate (Manchester) the Legal advice for Maven.
