Member Article

£150k funding for County Durham clothes makers

County Durham clothes maker AMA Group is poised to supply leading supermarkets with ‘ethical’ outfits made in Britain, following an £150k investment from the Finance for Business North East Angel Fund.

The company, which is based in Peterlee, secured the backing via the fund’s managers, Rivers Capital Partners.

The AMA Group is leading the way with the “re-shoring” of clothes manufacturing back to the UK and wants to revive the North East’s proud tradition in the sector.

The company created 30 jobs with the opening of its new factory earlier this year and is now aiming to expand that further with its growth in the supermarket supply sector.

It says customers’ increasing concern about the origins of the clothes they are buying and the environmental impact of transporting them across the globe is making major retailers look for low cost clothing suppliers closer to home.

The AMA Group are already attracting interest from several large UK retailers, due to their competitive prices, capacity for smaller batch sizes and shorter delivery times, when compared to overseas suppliers.

Recently, the company secured a deal to supply ladies’ tops to Tesco and The AMA Group says the additional funding from the North East Angel Fund will help it to win more contracts.

Paul Watts, the Director at The AMA Group North East Ltd, has over 35 years’ experience in the clothing industry.

He said: “We’re well placed to take advantage of consumers becoming more conscious of where their clothes come from.

“With the funding supplied by the Rivers Capital team, we can offer affordable garments made in the UK that shoppers can be comfortable, if not proud, to wear.”

The investment team at Rivers Capital Partners was led by Dr Michael Dickens, who said “The AMA Group have an immensely experienced team, who know their industry inside out.

“It is this experience that has allowed them to seize the opportunity that has opened in UK clothes manufacturing.

“More importantly however, they are dedicated and driven, which are the most important factors we look for in potential investees.”

Imogen Holland, Corporate Partner at law firm Ward Hadaway, provided legal advice to Rivers Capital Partners on the investment.

Imogen said: “We are delighted to have assisted the team at Rivers Capital Partners on this important investment in The AMA Group.

“The company’s management team have pursued their vision to bring back the clothing industry to the North East with great tenacity and determination and I am sure their experience in the sector will prove invaluable to the development of The AMA Group.”

Michael Dickens said: “Imogen and the team at Ward Hadaway did a superb professional job assisting on this important investment.”

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