60 partners so that we can provide the best possible products, service, and experience now and into the future,” Nelson says. In addition to what Compass does, Nelson says there are tax incentives in place to encourage continued investment. Such schemes run alongside the Recovery Loan Scheme (RLS) and help to support lending to businesses that may otherwise not be able to attain the funding they need. However, it is worth noting that the pandemic-linked RLS is currently due to end on June 30th next year, with those interested advised to move sooner rather than later to avoid missing out on this type of funding. Support from Manufacturers So, we have established that funding and financing is readily available, but what about how this works out for PSPs? The proof is very much in the pudding with plenty of PSPs having made use of financing in recent months to support their business growth plans. Some manufacturers have started to reach out to support customers with their growth plans. One example of this is personalised packaging start-up Penny Black, which has secured major backing from Agfa. Agfa committed to an initial investment of £1.3m in October 2022, following on from this with a further £1.5m pledge. Both investment funds were triggered by numerous partnerships and wins across the UK and Europe, with the business having shown steady month-on-month growth, attracting several new customers. Among these clients are sustainable toothbrush retailer SURI, gin brand Warner’s Distillery, and health supplements retailer Zooki. A key part of Penny Black’s success has been its marketing SaaS tool for e-commerce brands, with this already being deployed across Europe by global fulfilment providers like Radial, Elanders, I-Fulfilment, and Schroeders. “3PL companies currently struggle to personalise e-commerce packages and can’t do much beyond mass-printed, one-design, gift notes thrown inside,” Penny Black chief executive Douglas Franklin explains, continuing: “Our unique offering helps automate a revenue-boosting process for on-demand, beautifully designed printouts, specifically geared towards each customer, location, product, or package. “The moment consumers receive their online orders is the only touchpoint left for e-commerce brands to have a physical connection with them. Brands need to surprise and delight customers to secure their loyalty, especially when acquiring new ones can be so expensive. email: news@printmonthly.co.uk January / February 2024 - Issue 346 “Riding the wave of global growth in e-commerce, we’re delighted to be attracting more interest, and this latest boost in investment will help us develop even further.” Banking on Support In perhaps a more traditional way of bringing in financing, Manchester-based Browns Print secured more than £2.4m in asset financing from Lloyds Bank. The funds were used as a hire purchase loan for a new, state-of-the-art printing machine. By taking on the new technology, Browns Print says it now prints more efficiently, uses less energy and produces less waste than before the machine went in. The new device, the details of which were not released, produces sheets of paper 35% faster than the previous printer, saving several million sheets over the course of a year. It also uses ‘push to stop’ technology, an automated system that monitors the printing process in real-time to optimise printing speeds and quality. As part of its wider sustainability offering, Browns Print has also invested in 444 solar panels. These are capable of generating 200 kilowatts an hour and recycle over 1,000 tonnes of wastepaper each year, helping to cut energy usage and costs while improving the overall environmental credentials of the business. Tim Guest, chairman at Browns Print, says that increasing print capacity has also given the business more opportunity to grow. The company has recently hired ten more employees, boosting its total headcount to 80, while it has a long-term goal of growing revenues and capacity, and becoming a carbon-neutral business by 2028. “When our business was in need of a new printing press, we knew we wanted to purchase a machine that would help us to stay competitive and operate more sustainFor print manufacturers like Browns, using this financing to invest in cutting-edge equipment and technologies has helped it to stay competitive in the sector, and ultimately improve business growth amount secured by Merchr in an oversubscribed pre-seed fundraising round earlier in 2023 £350,000 ▲ Compass Business Finance specialises in assetbased lending to the print and packaging sector FINANCING AND FUNDING
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