Kidswear brand Character secures £3 mn loan from UK Export Finance

Character.com, an exporter of children’s character-themed clothing, has benefited from UK Export Finance’s new General Export Facility (GEF), securing a £3 million trade loan facility through Barclays. The funding will help the company optimise its growth strategy. GEF is aimed at supporting SMEs as they scale up their business operations.

GEF allows the UK government to guarantee up to 80 per cent of a facility offered by a bank to finance exports.

The Swansea-based clothing company exports children’s clothing and accessories across the world with recognisable characters from film and TV shows such as Harry Potter, Star Wars and Peppa Pig, and their own brand Harry Bear. It is one of the fastest growing companies in Wales with an annual turnover of more than £50 million. Character.com exports its products to markets all over the world including in Europe and North America.

“The opportunity that the collaboration brings to Character.com is paramount to our ambitious and exciting growth trajectory. It supports us and other organisations in putting Wales on the map as serious contenders in the export market. We look forward to working with the team at Barclays and UKEF as we realise our growth potential worldwide,” Character.com’s finance director Helen Morgan said in a statement.

Minister for exports, Graham Stuart MP, said: “I am delighted that Character.com are the first of many Welsh businesses to take advantage of GEF. GEF is a gamechanger for UKEF, making it quicker and easier for SMEs to access government-backed funding to help boost their exporting capacity.”