Furniture manufacturer Belle Maison Home Interiors has secured £650,000. The finance package comprised factoring, investment from the company’s directors and a £100,000 loan from the Merseyside Special Investment Fund (MSIF).

Furniture manufacturer Belle Maison Home Interiors has secured £650,000. The finance package comprised factoring, investment from the company’s directors and a £100,000 loan from the Merseyside Special Investment Fund (MSIF).

The investment follows rapid growth at the company. Mark Essex, Belle Maison’s managing director, says: ‘We have seen a huge increase in orders recently, particularly with the introduction of the web-based direct sales side to the business.

‘To enable us to keep up with demand for our product we need to upgrade our production facility. The money from MSIF means we can buy new state-of-the-art machinery that will allow us to manufacture more quickly and bring out new lines.’

Belle Maison’s turnover was £723,886 and its pre-tax profit was £43,247 for the year ended March 2006. For the previous financial year, its turnover and pre-tax profit were £529,839 and £4,596 respectively.

Based in St Helens, Belle Maison was set up in 2004 and currently employs 15 people.

It is expected to generate a £1.2 million turnover this year, rising to some £5 million in the next two years. The company also aims to recruit a further 15 members of staff this year.

Belle Maison specialises in furniture and accessories for the home, including nursery and childrens’ furniture. It sells online and through stockists in the UK and Ireland.