Stewart, the British manufacturer of plastic home and garden products, is poised for significant expansion after securing multi-million-pound funding.
The £11m deal with Santander Corporate & Commercial will allow the company to drive growth through additional manufacturing capacity and a raft of new product introductions.

Managing director Andy Burns said: "Stewart is a true UK manufacturing success story and we have strong aspirations for the future.

"We have a robust growth strategy in place, and the funding and support from Santander and [law firm] Wright Hassall will be instrumental in helping us implement this comprehensive plan across our core sectors."

Stewart relocated to a state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in Banbury, Oxfordshire after a £15m investor buyout in 2012-13, and saw 25% growth in business during 2014.

The company's products are sold in more than 1,600 DIY stores and garden centres across the UK and Ireland, including Homebase, Wilko, B&Q, Dobbies and Klondyke, as well as more than 600 independent garden centres.

Santander Corporate & Commercial relationship director Steve Bateman said Stewart's facility in Banbury was "one of the largest and most efficient plants in Europe, and it is clear that the firm's products are winning over an increasing number of clients".