Animation company Calon has secured a capital investment of £600,000 from Finance Wales. Calon, the creators behind shows such as SuperTed and Sali Mali, hopes the funding will allow the company to take more control over intellectual property rights, while also building a presence in the digital arena through acquisitions.

Animation company Calon has secured a capital investment of £600,000 from Finance Wales. Calon, the creators behind shows such as SuperTed and Sali Mali, hopes the funding will allow the company to take more control over intellectual property rights, while also building a presence in the digital arena through acquisitions.

Finance Wales, a subsidiary of the Welsh Assembly Government created to provide commercial funding to indigenous small-and medium-sized enterprises, has taken a minority stake in the company.

Calon aims to expand by developing new animation work and live action children’s drama by broadening into markets such as gaming and online content distribution.

The company employs 40 people, working with broadcasters throughout the UK and Europe. Its programmes have been shown in over 100 countries around the world.

Calon managing director Robin Lyons says: ‘This significant funding from Finance Wales gives us the ability to stretch ourselves beyond what’s been possible in the past. It gives us the chance to actively take more control over the intellectual property rights we create and to expand upon our slate of projects.’

Peter Wright, investment director at Finance Wales, comments that the funding should allow Calon to ‘maintain its outward-looking, forward-thinking approach already demonstrated in the company’s active involvement in initiatives which test and stretch the technical boundaries of animation’.