Shoemaker made famous by Strictly link gets automation grant

International Dance Shoes (IDS), the UK business that supplies specialist footwear to the popular TV programme Strictly Come Dancing, has been awarded a £20,000 government grant to upgrade its factory in Milton Keynes. 

The Times newspaper reported that the family-owned business (which has made ballroom and Latin shoes worn by Strictly’s professional dancers and celebrity contestants since the very first series) will be able to buy machinery from Italy costing about £70,000 in order to automate and speed up some processes previously done by hand. It should be installed in January.

International Dance Shoes, which makes about 35,000 pairs of shoes a year in Britain and about 100 pairs for each season of the BBC show, has a £2.6 million turnover.

IDS managing director Justin Patel told The Times partnering with the show had been really positive: “Our business is not one that generates a ton of profit to reinvest back into machinery projects like this, so things like this [grant] really do help to modernise our factory floor to gain the efficiencies that allow us to maintain prices.”

Meanwhile, a recent move to supply West End shows was also paying off, providing shoes for the cast of The Devil Wears Prada at London’s Dominion Theatre, and it has just landed an order for the cast of Carnival Cruise, which has ordering shoes for all its dance troupes.

​The grant is part of a £1.55 million ‘Made Smarter South East’ programme to support investment and training at manufacturing firms.

Since the scheme’s launch in April more than 400 businesses have shown an interest in accessing its advice, leadership and skills training, alongside student placements and match-funded technology grants, the report said.