Medical device company set to scale up manufacturing with £200,000 finance boost

A medical device company that manufactures a range of surgical training products used by doctors and surgeons across the globe has raised more than £200,000 to scale up manufacturing of its product range and increase staffing by 50%.

Inovus, based in St Helens, was launched in 2012 by directors Dr Elliot Street and Jordan Van Flute.

Both Street and Van Flute have grown the business from a garage-based start up to a leading name in healthcare simulation, with their products sold in over 35 countries worldwide.

Inovus recently secured £80,000 of funding through the NPIF – BFS & MSIF Microfinance Fund, part of the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund which is supported by the European Regional Development Fund.

This investment was managed by MSIF and was part of a larger funding round totalling over £200,000.

The business is using the funding to help expand its manufacturing facility to cater for its increasing product range. The funding also supports an increase in staffing as demand for the Inovus product range grows.

It is expected that the funding will help grow the Inovus workforce by over 50% in the next year.

Street said: “The process of raising funds through NPIF was relatively streamlined which meant we were able to secure funding at a crucial time to support the launch of two of our new products, the Sellick™ cricoid pressure trainer and the SmartMan™ range of CPR manikins.

“We have already noticed the positive effects of the funding and look forward to continued growth into the New Year.”

Andy Jones, investment manager at MSIF, said: “Both Elliot and Jordan are great business men; they are young and ambitious and have successfully established Inovus as an innovative company within the healthcare sector.

“I’m really happy that MSIF were able to assist them as they reached the stage where they were ready to scale up the business. Inovus has already grown due to the funding, and they should expect even larger levels of growth through 2018. I wish them all the best and look forward to seeing more of their innovative ideas come to fruition.”