Raising cash has proved child’s play for one Midlands-based company after it opened two children’s entertainment centres in the region.

Indoor play specialists Scallywags have unveiled a brand new £150,000 indoor play area measuring 8,000sqft at The Fort Shopping Park, in Birmingham.

The opening comes just weeks after the company’s play area at Dudley’s Merry Hill Shopping Centre reopened after undergoing an extensive £40,000 refurbishment.

The two centres are operated by Scallywags Birmingham Ltd and Scallywags Merry Hill Ltd respectively and were able to open following funding from Ludgate Business Finance.

Scallywags approached Ludgate, which has offices in Birmingham and Coventry, after being unable to raise the necessary £190,000 through conventional means.

Ludgate’s activities included approaching accountants, the Michael Dufty Partnership Limited, who are specialists in the field of business start-up and restructuring. Jon Skelding, founder of Scallywags, said: “Raising finance is certainly not easy at the moment but it was absolutely key to the future of our businesses.

“We pride ourselves on the quality of our service and with these two brilliant centres in place I am confident Scallywags will continue to go from strength to strength,” he added.

Richard Mason, director of Ludgate, said an innovative financial solution was required to help Scallywags raise the necessary funding.

“This deal showed that, despite the current economic climate, there are still a number of ways of raising capital to provide finance for business as long as you know all the options available and how to tap into them,” he said.