THE Belfast-based events services company which had a pivotal role in the emotive Ariana Grande 'One Love Manchester' concert in June has secured £750,000 from the Growth Loan Fund in Northern Ireland.
Central Fusion says it will use the cash injection to support ambitious plans for growth, including creating six new roles in its Belfast office.
The company has already seen great success in providing food and drink concessions at events such as Reading & Leeds Festival, V Festival, TRNSMT in Glasgow, Download Festival and Latitude Festival.
In June, in the aftermath of the Manchester terror attack, Central Fusion operated all the bars at the Ariana Grande concert, where it donated its profits to the One Love Manchester fund.
With this latest boost from the £50m Growth Loan Fund company, the company now plans to increase capacity and deliver additional services at more events.
Central Fusion director Stephen Symington, said: “The support from the Growth Loan Fund is a huge boost for us and will enable us to build on the success we have recently had.
"It will go a long way to help us increase our capacity to deliver more services at more events. Ultimately, this will result in job creation for both permanent and temporary team members.”
Fellow director Richard Irwin added: “We hope to achieve significant growth of the business by continuing to take on more festival and event work in Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK, as well as becoming involved in similar events in the Republic. We currently have plans for events around Halloween and Christmas in Northern Ireland on a number of key sites.
“In addition, we are already making plans for new concepts that will help improve the company’s operating levels during its historically quiet period between October and April. Our aim is to ensure the business is operating at full capacity across a 12-month calendar.”
WhiteRock Capital Partners, who manage the Growth Loan Fund in Northern Ireland, has invested over £40 million to local businesses since its inception, with loans ranging from £100,000 to £1.25 million.
Central Fusion currently employs 27 full-time team members in their offices in Belfast and Wigan and have plans to increase that number significantly over the next 12 months. The investment will create up to six additional new roles in the Belfast office.
During the summer period, the company has temporary teams of up to 600 working at various outdoor festivals and gigs.
