Clitheroe door hardware company secures £50k Northern Powerhouse investment

A door hardware manufacturer in Lancashire has secured five-figure funding to support its expansion plans.

Clitheroe-based Loxta Hardware will use the £50k Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund boost to design and manufacture architectural ironmongery and door hardware across its ranges.

The funding was facilitated through NPIF – BFS & MSIF Microfinance, which is managed by Business Finance Solutions in partnership with funding provider MSIF.

Loxta Hardware will also use the cash to purchase additional stock and launch new products to spearhead its entrance into the export market for the first time this year, when it will focus overseas efforts on Europe and the Middle East.

Shaun Singh, who founded Loxta in 2012, said: “We created Loxta to bring a new era of exceptional engineering to the interior hardware industry and BFS were immediately able to see the national and global potential of our products.

“We have immediately invested the funds in the development of a full range of new door fittings solution and as a result we are able to really develop both our trade client base and our export strategy.”

Shaun originally got in touch with Lancashire’s Business Growth Hub Boost and was introduced to the NPIF by access-to-finance specialist Prakash Patel, of A2F North West.

BFS senior loan manager Mark Gibbons commented: “Shaun and his team have created a great British company that is proudly designing, manufacturing and distributing all of their own products.

“They came to us with a strong plan for growth, anchored to an ambitious brand extension, which we were very happy to support with funding from NPIF and, as a result, Loxta is already well on the way to establishing a new standard of product and engineering within this market.”

British Business Bank senior manager Sue Barnard said: “We are committed to supporting companies across the North of England and it is great to see our fund managers continuing to back businesses like Loxta that will drive the future of Lancashire’s local economy.”

Lancashire County Council’s head of business growth and innovation, Andy Walker, said of the deal: “This investment is a perfect example of how Boost and the Access to Finance programme have worked together to find the right funding solution for Loxta.

“The fact that Shaun intends to use the NPIF investment to boost productivity and increase exports is also fantastic news, as these are two major drivers of growth which will help benefit the whole of Lancashire’s economy.”

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