Funding helps craft retailer stitch together growth

An independent craft retailer is stitching together growth two years after securing £60,000 of investment.

Knit Nottingham received funding from the Midlands Engine Investment Fund II through First Enterprise in 2024, enabling Hannah and Daniel Byrne to purchase the city centre yarn shop from its previous owner.

The investment also provided working capital and supported increased stock levels.

Since taking ownership, the couple have combined Hannah’s retail experience with Daniel’s e-commerce and marketing expertise to expand the shop’s product range and develop its in-store and online offer.

Knit Nottingham now stocks seven collections of British yarn, including small-batch knitting kits produced on the Isle of Colonsay and handspun yarn from Melbourne in Derbyshire using wool from rare Portland sheep at Calke Abbey.

Locally produced small-batch hand-dyed yarn has also been added to its range.

The retailer recorded a six per cent increase in average customer spend between January and August this year compared with the same period in 2025 and is now entering its busiest half of the year.

Alongside its retail growth, Knit Nottingham has expanded the community activities hosted at its premises.

Its workshop space is being opened to other independent creatives, with events including Wine and Twine held in partnership with fellow Nottingham business Inknotts.

Monthly Craft and Chatters sessions have also grown, bringing together crafters of different ages to learn skills and meet others.

The workshop accommodates up to 12 people, while almost 30 attended across the shop’s two floors for its Knit in Public Day.

Hannah and Daniel say the investment has helped them build on the shop’s established foundations while developing its role as a creative community hub.

They said: “The funding helped us achieve our dream of owning a small business that also serves as a community hub for fellow creatives. 

“Looking back two years later, we’re incredibly proud of how far we’ve come. 

“We’ve expanded our range of British yarns, grown our Craft and Chatters community, and created opportunities for other local creatives to host workshops and events. 

“The support we received from First Enterprise gave us the confidence and foundation to keep building the business.”

Danielle Davis, deputy director at First Enterprise, added: “It’s incredibly rewarding to revisit businesses like Knit Nottingham and see the difference funding can make over time. 

“Hannah and Daniel have taken an already well-loved business and built on its success, creating new opportunities for customers, supporting local makers, and strengthening Nottingham's creative community. 

“Their progress over the past two years is exactly the kind of long-term impact the Midlands Engine Investment Fund II was designed to achieve.”

The £400 million Midlands Engine Investment Fund II, operated by the British Business Bank, provides debt finance of £25,000 to £2 million and equity investment up to £5 million to help Midlands-based small and medium-sized businesses start, grow or innovate, aiming to boost sustainable economic growth, increase early-stage funding availability and improve access to finance for firms that might otherwise miss out.

David Tindall, senior investment manager at the British Business Bank, added: “Hannah and Daniel’s success demonstrates how access to the right type of finance can help ambitious businesses unlock their potential, create opportunities, and contribute to the growth of the local economy. 

“We’re proud that the Midlands Engine Investment Fund II has supported their journey and look forward to seeing what they achieve next.”

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