Toy maker HTI seals funding deal
NORTH West toy designer and manufacturer HTI Group, has boosted its international growth plans with a funding deal.
The Fleetwood-based company, which last week revealed a near 10% growth in annual sales to £72m for the year to the end of March, has extended its relationship with Barclays Corporate, which has provided new working capital facilities.
HTI is the country’s largest independently owned designer and manufacturer of children’s toys, with an international customer base of major retailers and a portfolio of hit brands from TV and film including characters such as Peppa Pig and Hello Kitty.
In its last year, overseas sales increased to 25% of the group total after it struck deals with Babycentre in the Middle East, Walmart in North America and French supermarket chain Carrefour.
Managing director Mark Walls, managing Director, commented, “Our UK business provides us with a hugely solid foundation across a growing customer base which include many long term strategic partnerships.
“Our global footprint has also grown in recent years following a succession of new deals and strategic expansion into key markets and regions. We’ve invested heavily to get the right strategy, infrastructure, product breadth and team in place and we’re determined that the next five years will be a defining chapter in HTI’s history.”
The deal was arranged by Jane Khaliq, retail and wholesale relationship director at Barclays Corporate in Manchester, who said: “HTI is a genuinely global business which has its their sights firmly set on further international expansion.
“Our long standing relationship with HTI and our ability to provide our clients with an end-to-end working capital solution ensured we were best placed to support them with their growth ambitions.”
