Beauty firm reinstates international expansion plans following £300k loan
Bolton-based Lash House Limited, trading as London Lash Pro, has received a £300,000 CBILS-backed loan to help it continue with its international expansion plans.
The loan is from NPIF-FW Capital Debt Finance, managed by FW Capital and part of the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund (NPIF).
London Lash Pro is an online wholesaler of eyelashes and associated goods such as glues, cleansers and accessories, selling to eyelash technicians globally.
Chief executive Hanna Putjato founded the company in 2014, and has grown the business from scratch into a global operation with a turnover of almost £5m and recently won the Queen’s Award for Enterprise: International Trade 2020.
At the start of 2020, the company was poised to expand its European operation significantly through holding increased stock at its German facility to reduce costs associated with Brexit.
However, international lockdowns due to the pandemic have sidelined many beauticians, impacting London Lash Pro’s sales.
The company decided to continue with its plans and NPIF-FW Capital Debt Finance agreed a NPIF loan to support this growth.
Hanna Putjato said: “Despite initial setbacks last year we didn’t want to slow down.
“The funding will be used to recruit a senior marketing and operations team to drive our international sales, particularly in Europe and the US.”
She added: “We are now on target to achieve a turnover of £8m next year and £12m in 2023.”
FW Capital investment executive, Loz O’Connor, said: “London Lash Pro is a very strongly performing, highly profitable company.
“This NPIF loan, backed by CBILS, will aid worldwide sales, reduce costs and enable them to invest in key staff and properly market themselves for the first time. It is a really exciting business and we are pleased that we are able to play a part in this next exciting phase of its development.”
Sue Barnard, at British Business Bank, said: “It’s been a challenging period for many Northern businesses operating in the beauty sector, with the pandemic forcing closure of where many of London Lash Pro’s products are sold.
“NPIF is proud to be supporting the company in realising its growth targets over the coming years. Investments such as this demonstrate the importance of access to finance for Northern businesses.”
FW Capital provides loans of £100,000 to £750,000 to businesses based in the NPIF region with a focus on the North West, Cumbria and Tees Valley.
The Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund project is supported financially by the European Union using funding from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) as part of the European Structural and Investment Funds Growth Programme 2014-2020 and the European Investment Bank.
