Exquisite aims for bigger slice thanks to funding

The Leeds-based group, whose customers include Jet2, Grand Central Railway Company and First Hull Trains, said it has a projected turnover of more than £1.7m for this year.

Viv Parry, managing director of Exquisite Handmade Cakes, said: “We have been very good at developing high-quality products and establishing routes to market.

“However, we have been very poor at marketing the company and the investment from Finance Yorkshire will enable us to raise the profile of the business.”

The company will become the hundredth company to receive a Finance Yorkshire investment since the Fund completed its first deal in August 2010.

“We recently had a meeting with a prospective client which owns 90 coffee shops around the country and he asked why he hadn’t heard of us before,” said Ms Parry.

“We want to turn that scenario around and have customers contact us because they have heard what we can offer.”

Exquisite Cakes, which employs 30 people from five units on Lennox Road, is developing a new company website.

The company was introduced to Finance Yorkshire by Keith Stearman from SPS, a York-based strategy, coaching and mentoring consultancy.

Ms Parry said: “Keith came on board to help with a strategy review of the company and has stayed with us in a mentoring capacity.

“He identified that we needed to form a relationship with Finance Yorkshire to help support our plans for expansion.

“We definitely see this as being a toe in the water where further deals with the fund can be arranged to assist our growth over the long term.”

Ian Atkinson, investment manager at Finance Yorkshire, who worked on the deal, said: “Exquisite Cakes has achieved great success in a relatively short period of time.

“It has targeted a growing market and is developing a foothold on a national scale, while creating employment in the Yorkshire area. We are looking forward to developing a long-standing relationship with the company and help it expand and develop new products.”

Alex McWhirter, chief executive of Finance Yorkshire, said: “We are very pleased to have invested in 100 companies. The milestone is a great achievement, but we want to build by investing in more companies and making the most of the opportunities in Yorkshire.

“This is only the start of the potential Finance Yorkshire has in developing a legacy of access to finance for all types of businesses across the region.”

Finance Yorkshire provides seedcorn, loan and equity linked investments, ranging from £15,000 to £2m, to help small and medium-sized businesses.