Promotional goods company Premium Factory has secured an Enterprise Finance Guarantee (EFG) loan of £200,000 to expand into Europe.

Promotional goods company Premium Factory has secured an Enterprise Finance Guarantee (EFG) loan of £200,000 to expand into Europe.

The finance from Lloyds Banking Group follows a previous EFG-backed loan of the same amount from Lloyds last year, which enabled Premium Factory to launch a range of lunchboxes decorated with the shirts of major football clubs in time for the World Cup. In 2009 the company signed an exclusive deal with Asda and sold nearly 100,000 of the lunchboxes, which it produces under the Shirtbox brand.

This latest loan will fund an expansion of Shirtbox into Europe, the USA, Mexico and Brazil, as well as helping Premium Factory to develop new product ranges.
  
Paul Howard, director of Premium Factory, says: ‘The downturn in the economy had reduced the business opportunities in our traditional promotional sector, so we have taken the opportunity to design and manufacture our own products for retail.’
 
Brendon Shanahan, relationship director at Lloyds Banking Group, comments: ‘Businesses can look to diversify and create new opportunities throughout the economic cycle. By creating new products or targeting new groups, Shirtbox has put itself in a strong position to find new routes to growth in significant international markets.’

London-based Premium Factory produces promotional items such as plastic figurines for a range of companies including Guinness and Unilever.