Night Store Limited, a Derbyshire-based nightwear retailer and wholesaler, has secured a £500,000 funding package from MEIF Maven Debt Finance, managed by Maven Capital Partners to expand its product range and create new job roles.
The funding will enable the business to invest in marketing to grow its digital presence online, and to purchase new stock to expand its product portfolio, as well as increasing its warehouse capacity to service its growing number of customers. Night Store also aims to strengthen its senior management team by making three key hires in the next 12 months.
Based at Whaley Bridge in the High Peaks, Night Store is a British nightwear retailer that sells direct to consumers via its own website, and wholesale via independent retailers and larger online fashion retailers such as ASOS and Next. The business sells its own-brand night products, mainly womenswear pyjamas and dressing gowns, but the management team aims to use the funding to launch a range of lingerie and men’s nightwear.
The business was founded by husband-and-wife team Daniel and Charlotte Hawthorne, who started Night Store as a side-line to their previous jobs. Charlotte began to design and source her own range of women’s nightwear to sell online, experiencing significant growth since formally launching in 2020. Charlotte is an experienced buyer in the fast fashion industry for brands like The Hut Group, I Saw It First, Boohoo and Missguided.
Daniel also has significant experience in sales, marketing, branding, and product positioning, having worked for several creative design, advertising, and media marketing companies, and with brands such as Disney, Coca-Cola, Apple, and Nike.
Daniel Hawthorne, Co-founder of Night Store, said: “We’re delighted to partner with the MEIF and Maven Capital Partners. Jonathan and the team at Maven have been incredible to work with and it’s clear they share our vision for the exciting growth plans ahead.”
Lewis Stringer, Senior Manager UKN at the British Business Bank, said: “The MEIF is here to help Midlands businesses achieve their growth potential. It is fantastic to see a Derbyshire business in the textiles sector being supported with the development of new product ranges. We encourage other businesses across the region to consider the finance options available through the MEIF.”
Will Morlidge, Interim CEO at the D2N2 Local Enterprise Partnership, said: “I’m delighted to see this investment by the Midlands Engine Investment Fund into this ambitious High Peak business. The investment will allow Night Store to maximise and accelerate commercial opportunities, supporting the economic development of our region.”
The Midlands Engine Investment Fund
The Midlands Engine Investment Fund is a collaboration between the British Business Bank and ten Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) in the West Midlands and East Midlands.
The MEIF is supported by the European Regional Development Fund, the European Investment Bank, Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and British Business Finance Ltd.
It provides a range of affordable financial products to small and medium-sized businesses (SME) across the D2N2 region such as Small Business Loans, Debt, Equity and Proof of Concept funds to help businesses achieve their growth ambitions.
The Midlands Engine Investment Fund provides over £250m of investment to boost SME growth in the Midlands Engine Investment Fund area. The D2N2 ERDF contribution to MEIF is £11.75m.
