Pictured above: (l-r) Andy McNamara (Big Button Media) and Andy Povey (Investbx)

A Birmingham digital media company which specialises in the production of videos and animation for corporate clients has received £200,000 from the Birmingham City Council Loan Fund.

Big Button, based at Fazeley Studios in Digbeth, was founded in 2003 and has grown to become a full digital content creation company, including a fully-fledged web team, employing 15 staff.

Despite the recession, the company has succeeded in growing its profits year on year and has been developing a groundbreaking on-line video streaming product called Buto.tv over the last three years.

Managing Director Andy McNamara said: "This new product we've been developing on could be a massive boost for us as a company but, despite the fact we've been able to continue growing during the economic downturn, we've simply been unable to get access to finance from the banks."

The company has received support from the Birmingham City Council Loan Fund, which offers loans of between £50,000 and £1,000,000 to successful companies which are seeking to expand and create jobs.

After expressing an interest in the loan, Big Button worked with Investbx - which is administering the loan fund on behalf of the City Council. Andy Povey, client relationship manager at Investbx supported the company through the application process and took the bid through to a successful approval.

"I can honestly say that without the support from the loan fund, we simply wouldn't have been able to take our new product to market," said Andy. "We feel as a successful Birmingham business that we have been held back by the reluctance of banks to lend money.

"As a result of this loan and thanks to the efforts of everybody involved in helping us to get access to the cash, we are now in a position to take this to the market."

Cllr Timothy Huxtable, Cabinet Member for Regeneration, said: "We are all familiar now with the challenges facing successful businesses who, through no fault of their own, are having major difficulties in securing finance to support their growth plans.

"Big Button is a perfect example of a successful and thriving high-value added business in Birmingham which has been unable to access finance from traditional sources.

"This is why the Loan Fund was set up and we are delighted that Big Button Media, one of the leading companies in our city's thriving creative sector, has successfully received support.

"Viable companies like this, which are thriving despite the challenging economic times, need the right support and we are looking forward to working to provide more assistance locally to help firms expand and diversify."

Terms and conditions for each investment entered into with the City Council, including repayment periods, will differ from loan to loan although they are broadly in line with similar products currently available in the wider marketplace.

To help smaller businesses seeking investments of between £1,000 and £50,000, Birmingham City Council has put further financial support into a £2,000,000 fund to be delivered through fellow investment specialists ART (Aston Reinvestment Trust) and Arrow.