A Lancashire business is focused on fast growth after securing new investment from NPIF -FW Capital Debt Finance, which is managed by FW Capital and is part of the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund.
Chorley-based Dreamtex, a Chorley supplier of children’s bedding products, works with brands such as Xbox, Bluey, Jurassic World, Gabby’s Dollhouse and Disney, and is growing the business with the backing of the investment which is supporting the development of a range of new products and licences.
The company employs 11 people at its Chorley base, and was established in July 2012 by Anthony Duckworth, Andrew Downie, and Jo Duckworth. Dreamtex agrees licences for its products with a wide range of children’s brands before they are manufactured abroad and delivered to retailers including Smyths, Amazon, Asda, Sainsbury’s, Next and Argos.
Dreamtex is also a Guinness World Record Holder, alongside DHX brands, after manufacturing the world’s largest polar fleece blanket featuring In the Night Garden character and CBeebies favourite Iggle Piggle. The record-breaking, 98.8m2 blanket was unveiled by Iggle Piggle at Alton Towers back in 2015.
Last year, the company launched Dreamtex Earth, an in-house sustainability project featuring Better Cotton Initiative sourced cotton for popular brands Bluey, Xbox and Among Us in retailers such as Next, Asda, Tesco and Argos.
Anthony Duckworth, managing director at Dreamtex, said: “We’re very excited for the future and this investment is helping us to extend our product range and introduce new licence agreements. The working capital gives us the platform to drive investment in new stock which will in turn support our retail partners and the end consumer.
“I was introduced to Andy Traynor at FW Capital by Mark Critchlow at Clearwater and I’ve enjoyed working with him. He has delivered the funding smoothly and have been professional throughout the process, taking the time to understand our business.”
Traynor added: “Dreamtex has a great track record of success, with a very experienced management team. They have a healthy pipeline of new products and licences which will support their growth strategy. This is a great example of how the NPIF funding can assist ambitious companies seeking expansion which will benefit the local economy and help new job creation in the future.”
The current NPIF investment phase has now completed with the British Business Bank set to launch the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund II in March 2024.
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.
