Export growth creates 20 jobs at Surface Print Company

Surface Print Company, the Accrington-based wallpaper manufacturer, is set to create 20 jobs after boosting production to meet international demand.

The overseas expansion is backed by a £2.5m funding package from Lloyds Bank Commercial Banking.

The move will help the firm, which already works with luxury design customers in more than 70 countries, to increase production by 20 per cent and begin exporting to 15 new locations by 2020.

The overseas expansion will boost turnover by more than 40 per cent within the next two years, and the 20 new jobs will represent a 20 per cent increase in workforce numbers.

Lloyds Bank Commercial Banking provided a term loan and invoice discounting package to support the company’s growth plans.

The fourth-generation family business, which was founded in 1990 by John Watson, supplies more than 100 brands across the world and generates 40 per cent of its sales overseas.

The firm uses a range of production capabilities, from heritage techniques to the latest print innovations, to create a variety of luxury wallcoverings. In September 2016 it also launched its own brand of wallpaper, 1838 Wallcoverings, that it sells worldwide.

James Watson, managing director at Surface Print Company, said: “Wallpaper has come back in fashion over the past decade with consumers, retailers and designers across the globe now requesting a wider range of high-quality designs.

“The funding we’ve received from Lloyds Bank has given us the financial headroom to boost production and meet clients’ growing requirements and, as a result, we expect our turnover to hit £10m by the end of 2020."

Garry Birchall, relationship director at Lloyds Bank Commercial Banking, said: “Surface Print Company already has an excellent reputation overseas, but to push forward with the next phase of its expansion it needed the correct funding in place. “Products such as invoice finance are perfect for ambitious firms that are looking to grow their overseas presence, as they enable businesses to release cash tied up in unpaid invoices that can then be reinvested in the firm."