2nd August 2023

Further investment for eco-friendly manufacturer

Producing sustainable products for warehouse storage, packaging and logistics, The Alternative Pallet Company, trading as PALLITE® Group, has received follow-on funding from the Midlands Engine Investment Fund (MEIF), provided by The FSE Group Debt Finance Fund and backed by the Recovery Loan Scheme.

This latest £750,000 funding for the company follows a previous MEIF investment, which saw the company create 18 new jobs at its Wellingborough base, establish trading in new overseas markets, and more than double its sales revenues.

The new funding will be used to create new roles in finance and operations, boosting capacity to meet increased demand and supporting the next phase of growth.

PALLITE’s® award-winning range of paper-based products is 100% recyclable and offers a genuine alternative for customers seeking to further their sustainability goals. The range includes PIX® flexible warehouse storage solutions, shipping crates, layer board, pallets and packaging.

Due to the innovative honeycomb technology that underpins all PALLITE® ’s solutions, the company is to be awarded a King’s Award for Excellence in Innovation – making it one of only 148 organisations nationally to be recognised with a prestigious King’s Award.

Paul Etty, PALLITE® Finance Director, said: “We are delighted to have secured MEIF funding, which ensures we press ahead with our growth plans. Our products provide customers with environmentally friendly solutions to help reach their sustainability targets. We are honoured to be a recipient of a King’s Award and excited to be taking this offering to more markets. FSE has continued to show an understanding of our business model and is able to invest where traditional lenders cannot.”

Ann Marie McFadyen, Investment Manager at The FSE Group, added: “Paul and the team have made impressive progress since our last loan – despite difficult trading conditions caused by covid and Brexit – with the company on track to deliver over 100% growth in 2023 for the second year running. We are pleased to be continuing to support this growing and ambitious business as it develops more sustainable products for worldwide use.”

Over 25% of the UK’s greenhouse gas emissions are produced from the transport sector and environmental legislation requires businesses to take action to reduce this. As one of the UK’s leading producers of honeycomb paper products including pallets and collapsible boxes, PALLITE® is well-placed to support this transition.

Mark Wilcockson, Senior Investment Manager at the British Business Bank, said: “The MEIF supports SMEs in the Midlands that are focused on innovative and eco-friendly business practices. MEIF’s follow-on funding for PALLITE® will support the company’s further growth plans and help create new roles in the region to meet the increase in demand following a successful first funding round.”

The Midlands Engine 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 2014-2022 and the European Investment Bank. The FSE Group manages a section of MEIF that provides investments between £100,000 and £1.5 million to support growing SMEs across the region. For more information visit: www.thefsegroup.com/fund/midlands-engine-investment-fund-debt-finance.