CHAMBER NEWS
Support makes a difference say local firms
Here are just a few examples of businesses that took advantage of support from Collaborate.
T-SHIRT GUY HAS BUSINESS ALL SEWN UP The T-Shirt Guy designs and sells printed t-shirts and other garments to major high street retailers including New Look, River Island and Top Shop. With a £25,000 grant the business was able to take on new premises, invest in new equipment and create 14 new jobs. Rob Booth, Managing Director,
said: “The grant enabled us to quickly set up our new factory at a time when capacity in Leicester was restricted. It meant we could invest in new machinery without compromising the working capital needs of our business.”
E-BIKE TOUR BUSINESS GEARS UP FOR GROWTH National Forest E-Bike Holidays is a new business offering self-guided luxury cycling tours. Director Sue Jerham heard about
Collaborate through the North West Leicestershire District Council. Sue said: “The one-to-one support helped me shape the business. They listened to my business plan, what my ideas were and helped me structure that into a more sustainable option for the tourism industry.”
CRACKING GROWTH FOR DRY ICE NETWORK Dry Ice Network manufactures dry ice from liquid carbon dioxide (CO2) supplying a wide range of industries on a same day, next day basis in the UK. With a £25,000 grant from Collaborate it purchased two new dry ice machines. Managing Director Mike Bennett said: “The grant enabled us to double
our capacity. Collaborate also provided advice on GDPR and marketing which has led to a rebrand and introduction of client newsletters.”
SMEs pass through the gateway to growth
Business support for SMEs in Leicester and Leicestershire will continue through the Business Gateway Growth Hub. Kevin Harris (pictured), Chair of
the Leicester and Leicestershire Enterprise Partnership (LLEP), said: “Following a successful bid to the European Regional Development Fund we have secured a further £7.8m for a delivery project, which enables the
36 business network October 2019
Business Gateway Growth Hub to continue a variety of support to local businesses and add enhanced services to the offer. “The Growth Hub will offer
business growth grants from October enabling eligible businesses to apply for a share of the £1.4m pot of grant funding for capital projects ranging from £2,000 to £25,000 at 35% of the project cost.”
As well as the grant, support
includes one-to-one advice, presentations and workshops, referrals and signposting to expertise, funding and support to help SMEs accelerate growth.
For details about this service and the grants please contact the Business Gateway Growth Hub on 0116 366 8487 or visit
www.bizgateway.org.uk
Dry Ice Network DPI UK
A BRIGHT FUTURE AHEAD FOR DPI Castle-Donington based DPI UK manufactures light boxes and aluminium structures for retail, airport and exhibition use. The business has grown rapidly since its launch in 2014 by directors Sandra Wiggins and Paul Tomlinson. Sandra said: “We had a problematic saw which was constantly breaking down; we were haemorrhaging money. With a £12,253 Collaborate grant we were helped to buy a new saw which has increased our capacity. It has meant we could take on more work and meet more deadlines. We’ve gone from three to 12 people and turnover has grown an average of 38% year-on-year. Without the grant we could have had a very different story now.”
The T-Shirt Guy
National Forest E-Bike
GOKUL FOODS HAS A TASTE OF SUCCESS Family-owned business Gokul Foods specialises in pure vegetarian catering for events including weddings and parties and is also known for its Nylon Patta Gathiya (crispy Indian snacks). The business was supported by
Gokul Food
the Food and Drink Forum to achieve its Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) system. HACCP is a system that helps food businesses look at how they handle food and introduce procedures to make sure the food produced is safe to eat. Rajal Rajpra, Director, said: “With this support we have had quick results
and having the required processes in place we were able to expand further and introduce our frozen food range.”
You can hear more about all these businesses in a short video at
bit.ly/Collvideo
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