£1 million investment for Bedwas-based sport tape firm

A Bedwas-based sports tape business is looking to score international growth after receiving a £1 million investment boost.

SPORTTAPE, which is based on Pant Glas Industrial Estate, produces products that are used by more than 1,000 sports club, and around one million athletes – ranging from Sunday league level to the Olympics.

Established by directors Kate-Anne Kelly and Carl Austin in 2010, SPORTTAPE now has a team of 12, with distributors in 16 countries.

The six-figure investment has come from the Welsh Government-owned Development Bank of Wales, which provides support to both start-up and established businesses in the shape of loans or investments.

It is not the first time the development bank has provided support for SPORTTAPE. The firm was given an initial £250,000 loan in 2022, which helped it quadruple its turnover from £1m to £4m in just two years.

Having not long moved to its current 10,000sqft unit at Pant Glas, the firm will use the latest support to fund its next stage of growth – with the aim of trebling its turnover to £12m.

Directors Ms Kelly and Mr Austin said: “We self-funded our first ten 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, who is a portfolio executive with the development bank, 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.”