Charactershop
“It’s been a really rewarding relationship because apart from the financial investment, which has helped us go from strength to strength, Advantage Creative has hooked us in to a network of creative industries across the Midlands and they have been a huge source of support. Their team really understands creative businesses in a way that an ordinary investment company might not. That’s made a real difference to us.”
Mark Vale, Co-founder, CharacterShop
CharacterShop is an award-winning animation studio and production company based in Birmingham. Established in 2002, CharacterShop specialises in character animation and digital effects production for TV series, commercials, branding, & film, interactive and mobile media.
Co-Founders Mark Vale and Paul Howell had worked together at the BBC for several years and, on the closure of their parent company, acquired its equipment and key staff to take the company private in 2002.
Advantage Creative Fund invested in Charactershop 2008 to help the company scale at a crucial stage in its development. The founding team had already won awards for the quality of its animation work and gained a small portfolio of strong clients. However, they needed capital investment to invest into marketing, renewal of equipment, and expanding the team in order to take the company to the next level.
Our investment provided the company with unrestricted funds to invest in their own growth and capitalise on new market opportunities. Alongside our investment, our team connected the Directors with a wider network of potential clients, suppliers and creative industries partners across the Midlands, helping the company identify and explore new leads.
