£1 million game-changer for SPORTTAPE

Caerphilly-based SPORTTAPE is gearing-up for global growth following a £1 million investment by the Development Bank of Wales.

Established by Directors Kate-Anne Kelly and Carl Austin in 2010, SPORTTAPE offers a range of winning tapes for sport. Their range of sport tapes are used by over 1,000 clubs and one million athletes ranging from local Sunday League Clubs to the Premiership and the Olympics. With a team of 12, the company has distributors in 16 countries and is teaching more than 10,000 people to tape each year.

An initial loan of £250,000 from the Development Bank in 2022 to fund working capital has helped SPORTTAPE to grow turnover from £1 million to over £4 million in just two years. Having recently relocated to a new 10,000 sq.ft unit at Pant Glas Industrial Estate in Bedwas, the company will now use the latest equity and debt investment of £1 million to fund the next stage of growth with the aim of trebling turnover to £12 million.

Directors Kate-Anne Kelly and Carl Austin said: “We’re a small business with sport in our DNA and we’re focussed on doing one thing well – making the world’s greatest sport tapes. We have now sold over five million meters of our flagship kinesiology tape and we’re teaching techniques and skills to athletes all over the world to master faster and more effective tape applications.

“We self-funded our first 10 years in business but then a loan from the Development Bank in 2022 helped to transform our growth by providing working capital to invest in product development and marketing. Their support has made us realise our potential so this latest investment is a natural next step on our journey. We can’t thank them enough for believing in SPORTTAPE and providing the funding that will now enable us to target a more global customer-base with investment in marketing, product development and stock.”

Bethan Knight is a Portfolio Executive with the Development Bank. She said: “Our job is to provide sustainable debt and equity funding for entrepreneurs in Wales to help them to achieve their full potential. Kate-Anne and Carl have put in the groundwork to build a great business that has real potential to become a successful Welsh export story.”

Chris Thomas of SME Finance Partners provided support on the deal and will continue to advise SPORTAPE as the company expands. Funding for SPORTTAPE came from the Wales Management Succession Fund. The £25 million fund is financed by Welsh Government and Clwyd Pension Fund. Loans and equity investments between £500,000 and £3 million are available.