A £350,000 cash injection is set to help a DIY firm expand.

Top Team Industries, which manufactures hardware products at its Blackburn factory, has received the investment from a venture capital fund.

The company, which is being renamed TT Industries, will use the cash to speed up development of new products and fund a marketing push.

The cash injection has come from the United Utilities Venture Fund, which is backed by the water and electricity giant, together with funds from Europe.

TT Industries has been trading for 23 years manufacturing products including wrought iron brackets, wooden door knobs and hat racks at its Dickens Street factory.

The company has developed a new brand of products with particular emphasis on bright packaging and easy-to-follow instructions.

"The products our company manufactures are purchased by consumers to complete home improvement projects and enhance their homes," said new managing director Keith Anderson.

"The products currently available are often poorly presented with little information and we believe creating a product that addressed such issues could gain us market advantage."

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