Fashion firm gets £1m boost for growth and jobs

FASHION brand Little Black Dress has secured a £1m loan to drive its growth over the next two years.

The Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) has provided the loan to support the development of Little Black Dress’s existing ranges and create new jobs.

The company, based in Ardwick, specialises in occasion wear which it sells online and through boutiques across the country.

Littleblackdress.co.uk is its online shop for premium party and evening dresses and accessories. It stocks high street, designer and boutique brands as well as its own-label Little Black Dress Collections.

It was founded  in October 2014 by David Walter, who spent 20 years as a fashion photographer and established the Photolink Creative Group, which employs 185 people in Manchester, London and Mumbai.

Singer, dancer and Britain’s Got Talent judge Alesha Dixon has become a shareholder and joined the board, with plans to take an active role in the business.

Chief executive Mark Evans is the former creative director of Shop Direct Group and has been the consulting digital design director to TK Maxx and other high street brands.

He said: ‘The loan Capital from the GMCA will enable us to accelerate our business plans, and position Little Black Dress as the ‘go-to’ premium occasion wear brand on-line.

“As a relatively new brand, it’s sometimes difficult to secure traditional financial funding, so the GMCA facility is a great fit.  Designed to encourage job creation in Manchester, the GMCA facility will now enable us to recruit ‘the great talent’ to drive us forward with pace- creating new jobs in digital, creative and E- commerce in Manchester in the next two years.”

The Greater Manchester Combined Authority has established an investment framework, the Greater Manchester Investment Fund (GMIF), which is unique in that investments are prioritised towards driving growth in the region with a particular focus on creating or safeguarding jobs.

Councillor Kieran Quinn, GMCA Lead member for Investment, Strategy and Finance said: ‘In my view this is exactly what the Combined Authority is about – being an enabler for growth and investment in the region.”

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