Sheffield-based STEPS Rehabilitation has reported a 300% increase in staff numbers since its £250,000 investment from NPIF – Mercia Debt Finance, which is managed by Mercia and part of the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund.

The NPIF investment was in the form of a three-year loan, which was fully repaid last year, with STEPS having made every monthly payment on time.

Based in Sheffield, the centre was launched in 2017 by sisters Toria Chan and Jules Leahy to address the lack of facilities for younger patients in need of intensive rehabilitation. Since it opened, STEPS has quickly become a national centre of excellence for adults recovering from brain or spinal injuries and complex trauma.

The sisters and their fellow directors invested more than £1.6million of their own money to build the facility, based on the site of the former Jacobs engineering works off Abbeydale Road.

The centre comprises 23 bedrooms, a large therapy gym and a hydrotherapy pool, along with games and music rooms. STEPS offer specialist nursing and residential rehabilitation, with fees paid by the NHS, insurers and clients’ compensation payments, as well as self-funding clients.

A spokesman said: "The £250,000 NPIF funding in 2017 enabled significant operational improvements to grow the capacity of the centre, in addition to investing in resource to support fast growth. Since this investment, Toria and Jules have increased staff numbers by 300%, from 35 to 140."

Since it opened its doors in 2017, the centre has welcomed more than 200 clients to the facility and has recently reached full capacity.

Jules Leahy, founder and business development director at STEPS, said: “We have been on an incredible journey since we launched in 2017 and we are thrilled to have been able to make such a huge impact on our clients’ lives. NPIF has been an important part in helping our dream come to fruition, with its funding helping to facilitate considerable operational improvements to help get us to where we are today.

"Obtaining finance for early-stage businesses is challenging and Mercia provided us with invaluable support from the offset – crucially they completely understood and believed in what we were doing and having their support at the time we most needed it was invaluable.”

Lucy Nickson, Vice-Chair of the Sheffield City Region Local Enterprise Partnership, said: “I’m delighted to see a great South Yorkshire business get the recognition and investment it deserves.

"This NPIF funding is welcomed as it enables STEPS to grow and expand on the fantastic work they’re doing to benefit the people of our region and beyond. We’re focused on bringing stronger, greener and fairer growth to South Yorkshire, and this is made possible through the excellence and dedication of our people and businesses such as STEPS.”

Pete Sorsby, investment director at Mercia, said: “STEPS is a unique business...Toria, Jules and the management team have put in many years of hard work and investment to make the centre what it is today – a nationally recognised rehabilitation facility. With future expansion plans in the pipeline, I have no doubt that STEPS will continue to go from strength-to-strength, and we are pleased to have been on that journey with them.”

Sean Hutchinson at British Business Bank, said: “NPIF was launched in 2017 and STEPS was one of our earliest investments, so it has been excellent to watch it grow and excel over the last few years. We look forward to working with like minded businesses in future to fulfil their growth plans.”