Case Studies

Producer of novelty clocks improves their competitivenessFebruary 27 2008

Rig Out produces, wholesales and retails novelty clocks. Originally started as a hobby in 1999 by Matthew and Paula Firth the company has been run on a full time basis since 2004. The company has developed a strong customer base mainly to the gift trade and a reputation for original and funky designs.

In order to move the business forward they needed to expand their manufacturing capacity and decided to move some of this overseas. The Business Enterprise assisted Rig Out with the necessary funding to enable them to this. This move has enabled them to be more competitive and has had a very positive effect on sales. Rig Out are currently talking to potential new customers from around the world.

In addition to supplying the trade, Rig Out also have website which sells direct to consumers.

http://www.rigout.net

Palm Cove Society increases its accomodation capacityDecember 18 2007

Palm Cove Society is a social enterprise which provides temporary supported housing for vulnerable women and children. It started with one house with space for three women in October 2007. Within three months it had increased its housing stock to five houses and opened its first house for vulnerable men. However, its first priority remains to provide immediate supported accommodation for women and their accompanying children.

They are unique in this sector providing primary care, guidance and support on lifestyle and health related issues to all its clients in addition to providing accomodation. Palm Cove promotes lifelong learning through collaborative involvement with local training and development facilities. Their clients are encouraged to engage in training and employment and Palm Cove has close relationships with the Light of the World which provides English language training.

In order to be eligible for housing clients must be homeless and the referral has to be made by one of their key partners. Clients are allowed to stay with Palm Cove under licence for 12 months but the majority move on to permanent accommodation after 3 to 6 months.

The friendly and informal atmosphere of its houses has encouraged the engagement of clients in the running of the houses and the development of their own community.

The business will continue to grow in 2008 with another 2 houses expected to be online by the end of January 2008 providing accommodation for up to 24 people. Further expansion will take place throughout the year, with total accommodation capacity expected to reach 30 spaces by summer 2008.

Wharfe Valley Cheesecakes LimitedOctober 29 2007

Wharfe Valley Cheesecakes is the dream of Martin Clay. Martin is a self taught chef who has been cooking since the age of six. He comes from a sales, marketing and negotiating background with BT, and most recently worked for Royal Mail until he was made redundant earlier this year. The aim of the business is to produce high quality cheesecakes. These will initially be sold in the Yorkshire area, but with a view to expanding nationwide once the brand and quality have been recognised. The company have rented a bespoke unit on an industrial estate near Ripon as a production centre.

These cheesecakes are made with only the finest natural ingredients, including a specialist cheese sourced from an independent dairy in Southern Ireland, and contain no artificial colours or flavourings. They will be available to customers in a range of flavours and sizes, and there will be the opportunity for these customers to select bespoke flavours which will be developed and manufactured to order. The products will be supplied both chilled and frozen to a wide variety of outlets from independent coffee shops through restaurants to food wholesalers across the North of England,

Manufacture is a simple process of mixing, measuring and chilling with no cooking involved.
Martin hopes to take on a work force of local people and build this business in to a nationwide concern with a nationally recognised brand name.

BEF have been more than happy to act as funders to support Martin’s efforts, both physically and financially, in getting this business off of the ground.

Ellis Horseboxes off to a Galloping StartOctober 15 2007

Steven van De Gevel was running an aluminium fabrications business, that while profitable, suffered from low margins and long payment terms, as the end customer was 2 or 3 times removed from Stevens business.

Being a keen horse rider and keeper, he saw there was demand for good quality horse boxes that provided flexible horse accommodation and transport, as well as day living and overnight accommodation for the owners.

Steven researched the market, produced some costings, and went to his bank for a loan to start building horseboxes, but was refused. Steven had in the past an IVA and although it had been cleared, counted against him when seeking funds for expansion. Consequently Business Link advised him to speak to Bef and he worked with us to develop a business proposition that was approved by the loan panel.

A loan of £20,000 was offered to be used for buying the vehicle for conversion, and material costs involved in the conversion. A Mercedes truck with low mileage was obtained and conversion started. Due to the height of the vehicle, work had to be done outside, and the wet summer of 2007 caused several weeks of delay, as much work could not be done in the wet.

However the box was completed and as of writing has been advertised on key websites and in the Horse Deals publication. Interest has been expressed from people across the country. (see attached images)

Ace BaceJuly 24 2007

Bob Adams had been a consultant for a number of years within the energy sector. He had been developing a new product for the logistics market that measures the optimum energy usage for warehouses. This system then modifies the energy levels within the warehouse allowing them to gain savings on their energy bills in excess of 15%.

This is particularly important for logistics companies as one of their largest overheads is energy.

Bob had spent a number of years perfecting the product and had used up much of his own resource to get it to market. But Bob, now in his sixties, needed some further investment to get the units installed into the customer’s warehouses. Although the banks were prepared to go so far via a small overdraft, Bob needed additional working capital to achieve that.

Bob turned to the enterprise fund who saw the potential in this product and decided that they would support it with a £30k loan.

Bob was delighted and is now in the middle of rolling out these devices across the country for such people as DHL, Sainsbury’s and other well known logistics companies.

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