Insider Media Limited

Wow! Stuff, the Wolverhampton-based toy developer and manufacturer, has been presented with a cheque for £202,300 from HSBC. The company was named overall national winner of HSBC’s 2010 Business Thinking scheme.

Managing director Richard North was presented with the cheque as part of the company’s prize at an event hosted by HSBC’s Birmingham commercial banking team. The event was attended by more than 50 business representatives from across the region.

HSBC is now urging Midlands companies to sign up to its 2011 Business Thinking scheme. Winners will be awarded a share in £108m worth of funding, a financial reward of up to £120,000 each and will be invited to take part in an overseas exchange trip for networking and business development.

North said: “I urge anyone who thinks their time may be better spent only on their current business activities to reconsider. Make that step, fill in the forms, challenge yourself this year a little more than last. The recognition Wow! Stuff has achieved through winning Business Thinking 2010 has been invaluable and as a result we are expecting our business to grow exponentially over the next 12 months.

“One of the most significant aspects of taking part in Business Thinking 2010 was the education it provided, enabling us to understand how to develop international trading relationships and also to visit overseas markets to gain a real appreciation. By the end of this year, Wow! Stuff will have doubled its sales and profitability, trading in 15 countries across the world, including Turkey which we visited on the 'Thought Exchange' trip."