£150K loan fund boost for personalised gift card firm

BURY-based company UK Creative Media has won £150,000 of funding from the Greater Manchester Loan Fund, managed by Maven Capital partners.

The deal will help the £1m turnover company accelerate the roll-out of its personalised card and gift franchises and take on several new staff.

UKCM has developed ‘Creation Express’, a range units through which customers can create, within minutes, fully personalised cards and gifts, including ceramics such as mugs, money boxes and candle holders and which are sold to local high street stores including card and gift shops and local convenience stores.
 
The units have the infrastructure required to complete the whole production process including printers and heat pressers.
 
Consumers upload pictures from devices such as mobile phones, SD cards, or USB drives and via social media such as Facebook, and craft their designs on a user-friendly touch screen which has UKCM’s software in-built.

Rather than having to wait for delivery, the item is completed there and then, with the whole process taking a matter of minutes.

To date, personalised products have primarily been reserved for online retailers, however Creation Express is exploiting a gap in the market and bringing a similar service to high street stores.

UKCM’s units are enabling independent stores to tap into the growing trend towards personalised bespoke cards and gifts. By using blank stock the unit also removes space, cash and stock issues which regularly plague small retailers, allowing them to cater for all calendar occasions and not just larger events like Valentine’s Day or Christmas.
 
In less than a year UKCM has sold its franchises into almost 200 retail outlets and following today’s announcement of GMLF funding it is aiming to sell 1,000 units, in the UK, within five years.  

Alex Rothwell, investment manager at Maven, one of the most active UK private equity houses, said: “UK Creative Media is a fast growing, innovative company which has successfully identified a gap in the market and is bringing the concept of personalised greetings cards and gifts that began life online to the high street, with great success to date.

“Today’s investment means that the company will be able to further invest in its existing workforce in the Greater Manchester area with the potential to increase the number of jobs at the firm over the next two years and beyond.”

Kurt Abbott, co-owner of UKCM, added: ‘We are proud to be part of a fantastic community of independent retailers who can offer these unique products and look forward to helping many more thanks to the investment from Greater Manchester Loan Fund.”

Mike Blackburn, chair of the Greater Manchester Local Enterprise Partnership, said: “UK Creative Media is a great example of Greater Manchester’s successful creative, digital and tech sector.

The firm has identified a new consumer need and created an original and accessible solution for it. On behalf of the Greater Manchester Local Enterprise Partnership I am happy that the GMLF is supporting this business so it can continue to expand.”

Cllr Rishi Shori, Leader of Bury Council, said: “I am delighted that UKCM has been selected to receive this investment which will not only benefit its workforce directly, but will also help independent retailers, which are at the heart of our communities and high streets, to tap into the fast growing personalised cards and gifts marketplace which has traditionally been dominated by online retailers.”