Derby-based Huub Design – the wetsuit, triathlon apparel and swim science specialist – is to expand production and capitalize further on demand for its products following £250,000 in funding from Santander Corporate & Commercial.
Founded in 2011 by Dean Jackson, the company was established ‘to fill a gap in the market, providing triathlon-specific sportswear, predominantly wetsuits.’ Supporting its innovative design focus, the company ‘uses state of the art science and research that delivers performance improvement to athletes of all abilities, and within FINA’s (Fédération Internationale de Natation) regulations.’
Success has seen Dean recently win ‘Entrepreneur of the Year 2014’ at the Derby Business Awards while the business won Sales & Marketing campaign of the year at the same awards. Huub Design also won ‘Wetsuit of the Year award’ for the second year running at the 220 Triathlon Awards earlier this year.
The funding from Santander Corporate & Commercial will enable the business to increase its wetsuit stocks to meet rapidly growing demand. Having moved to larger premises at the start of 2014, Huub has grown its workforce from three to seven in a short period of time, with plans to increase this number in the future.
Dean Jackson, Managing Director at Hubb Design, said “We have made significant long-term investments in the business and are benefitting from exceptional demand for our high performance products, predominantly the wetsuits. The funding and support from Santander has helped us focus on the next phase of growth.”
Jon Bennett, Relationship Director, Santander Corporate & Commercial, said “Huub Design was established to fill a gap in the market and we are delighted to help such a successful, local design business. We are very excited by the firm’s future and are confident that its products will continue to be extremely popular among triathletes.”
The Huub team notes that it understands the specialist technical and scientific fields associated with triathlon, including hydrodynamics and swim stroke analysis… ‘From smart scientist HUUB Toussaint, clever SwimSmooth guys Adam Young and Paul Newsome to pragmatist Dean Jackson, we are focused on bringing cutting edge innovation to our products, whilst retaining a sense of reality and accessibility.’
Having recently inked a deal with Spanish champion triathlete Eneko Llanos, Huub wetsuits are also worn by such sporting stars as Olympic London 2012 medallists Jonathan and Alistair Brownlee, Richard Varga (fastest swimmer in ITU triathlon), Clayton Fettel (Australian long course star), Frederik Van Lierde (Ironman world champion), Helen Jenkins, Caroline Steffen, Cat Morrison, Richard Murray, Henri Schoemen and Wian Sullwald.
