Marketing Agency Grows with SWIF Support

A Bournemouth marketing agency has received a funding boost from the South West Investment Fund, delivered by SWIG Finance.

The £200m South West Investment Fund covers the entire South West region and provides loans from £25k to £2m and equity investment up to £5m to help a range of small and medium sized businesses to start up, scale up or stay ahead.

Inspiration Agency was founded in 2011 by Louise Seager and provides a full range of marketing services, including strategy, branding, website design, social media and digital marketing.

The funding from SWIG Finance, which manages the smaller loans element of the South West Investment Fund across the region, supported the acquisition of South coast PR agency Darren Northeast PR, an award-winning local PR agency. The acquisition has enabled Inspiration Agency to add public relations and awards entries to their list of services.

Inspiration Agency was referred to SWIG Finance by Nick Gregory of Dorset Growth Hub.

Louise commented: “Right from our initial introduction SWIG has been absolutely fantastic. Their Business Manager Amanda was happy to answer all of our questions and helped us fully understand our options, the process and resolve any issues quickly and efficiently. This kind of organic growth would have taken many years to achieve so securing investment from the South West Investment Fund has really catapulted our business to the next level. I would highly recommend SWIG Finance for small business finance – a wonderful service – life-changing for me and my team.”

 SWIG’s Business Manager, Amanda Sheppard, said: “Louise was my very first customer enquiry, having just started at SWIG Finance, and it was a pleasure to support the funding requirement she needed.  Louise has done so well to build the business, with a strong team behind her to be in a position financially to take the next step and grow further by this acquisition, effectively doubling the size of the business overnight.

With her drive and passion, Louise will navigate the Inspiration Agency through integrating both businesses and go from strength to strength.

I am so pleased SWIG Finance and the South West Investment Fund could support her.”

David Tindall, Senior Manager at British Business Bank, said: “We’re delighted that the South West Investment Fund has funded Louise and the team at Inspiration Agency to grow, strengthen their offering, and expand their services. We look forward to seeing the agency continue to deliver for their clients as they begin this new chapter.”

The purpose of the South West Investment Fund is to drive sustainable economic growth by supporting innovation and creating local opportunity for new and growing businesses across the South West. The South West Investment Fund is increasing the supply and diversity of early-stage finance for South West smaller businesses, providing funds to firms that might otherwise not receive investment and helping to break down barriers in access to finance.