Cheadle-headquartered bodycare products manufacturer Grace Cole has secured a multimillion-pound investment from the Business Growth Fund to pursue further expansion in the UK and internationally.

The minority investment will be used to support the company's entry into new markets and build further sales in existing markets across the US, Europe, the Middle East and Asia-Pacific.

Founded in 2007, the company designs and develops Grace Cole-branded products including collections such as Boutique, Fruit Works and Tea Tree. Its products and gifts are sold in department stores and pharmacies such as House of Fraser, Debenhams, John Lewis and Lloyds.

Tracy Mort, founder and chief executive of Grace Cole, said: "We have created an efficient model of design, production and distribution, developed strong retail relationships and secured a loyal customer base.

"Having built a great foundation for the business, we are now excited to scale up our operations even further with BGF's financial backing. We wanted to bring onboard an investment partner that would be supportive but non-controlling, and as such BGF's long-term, minority approach was the right fit."

Neil Inskip, investor at the Business Growth Fund, said: "In less than nine years, Grace Cole has grown from startup to a business with product ranges selling in more than 80 countries worldwide. This is a significant achievement and testament to talent and ambition of Tracy and her management team.

"We are delighted to be providing Tracy with the support and financial backing to pursue her growth aspirations for the business."