£200,000 loan supports growth of Cornish sustainable furniture brand
A design and manufacturing company producing sustainable furniture for work, education and social spaces has received a £200,000 loan from the Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Investment Fund, managed by The FSE Group.
Redruth-based Hart Miller Design will use the funds to support the growth of its MARK (Made and Realised in Kernow) Product brand – furniture ranges designed for informal work settings and learning environments.
This Cornish company is well known in the contract furniture industry, with MARK furniture being used in the offices of multinational corporates including the BBC, EY, Fujitsu and Arsenal FC.
A key selling point is Hart Miller’s industry-leading, independently assessed ‘Do Net Good’ strategy that they spent three years developing and refining into the robust manufacturing and operating model that defines the business today. The company is also working towards B Corp certification in 2023.
Demand for MARK products is also being driven by changes to workspaces as they evolve to fit the post-covid hybrid model where working from home tends to be for concentration and focus, whilst working from the office is often about collaborative spaces that build brand culture.
Anna Hart, co-founder of Hart Miller Design, said: “As more large companies seek ethical and sustainable transparency from their suppliers, we are seeing increased demand for our high-quality designs. Our new Otto laptop table received significant pre-orders so building capacity to ensure delivery is central to our growth strategy. It can be difficult to obtain funding based on future sales so we are delighted to have secured this CIOSIF loan, which allows us to increase resources and provides working capital to support new contract wins.”
Tim Williams, investment manager at The FSE Group, added: “This is a resilient business that has overcome the considerable challenges posed by covid, built a track record for quality and reliability and developed a pipeline of innovative products to meet changing market demand. It is now in a strong position to take advantage of a recovering sector that is increasingly seeking high-calibre products with genuine sustainability credentials.”
