Manchester sports nutrition platform KBF Enterprises has secured a £750,000 investment to support future growth.
The funding has been provided by NPIF – FW Capital Debt Finance, which is managed by FW Capital and is part of the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund (NPIF). The loan will further boost the growth of the business in the UK and internationally by providing access to working capital to expand factory premises, increase new stock lines and ultimately create jobs.
KBF Enterprises was established in 2008 by managing director Kieran Fisher from his bedroom. Today KBF Enterprises operates from premises at Trafford Park and is a £24m turnover business, employing over 80 people. The company owns and operates seven sports nutrition brands, which are available in six continents and over 25 countries – Warrior, Warrior Princess, Bodybuilding Warehouse, Sports Fuel, TANKED, The Bulk Protein Company and Protein Café.
KBF Enterprises has achieved 50 per cent annual growth for each of the last four years in a row. It has established successful B2B as well as B2C channels that ship 37,000 orders per month to 300,000 registered retail customers, as well as supplying major UK & international retailers like ASDA.
Kieran Fisher, MD at KBF Enterprises, said: “[FW Capital] were fantastic to work with and support further growth of our incredible business, which is on track to achieve our target of £100m in annual sales by 2026. Someone now eats a Warrior protein bar every three seconds in the UK – and FW Capital’s support will enable us to further scale up our manufacturing facilities, enabling us to make 54 million bars annually in-house.”
Adam Husband, investment executive at FW Capital, added: “This is a fantastic opportunity to lend £750,000 to a high-growth and extremely profitable North West business. I have been impressed by Kieran’s entrepreneurial approach, drive and ambition which has resulted in great success. This investment will help the business significantly increase production capacity, thus fulfilling a key purpose of the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund – to boost SME growth in the North.”
FW Capital provides loans of £100,000 to £750,000 to businesses based in the NPIF region with a focus on the North West, Cumbria and Tees Valley. The Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund project is supported financially by the European Union using funding from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) as part of the European Structural and Investment Funds Growth Programme 2014-2020 and the European Investment Bank.
