Case Studies

After working in the pub industry for 10 years Peter Gardner saw the company he worked for go under and he lost his job. Deciding to start over he taught himself how to make chocolate online and set up his first storeand with the support of £10,000 from the Start Up Loans Company – Cocoa Amore was born.

After travelling from war torn Syria with her husband and three children Razan Al-Sous settled in Huddersfield, a far cry from her former home of Damascus.

Jacqueline Moran, a mum and entrepreneur based in Wirral, used her Start Up Loan to set up The Sewing Room, which offers expert clothes fitting and alterations.

Chappuccino is a café in the heart of Chapeltown, Sheffield, run by Olivia Fisher and her mum, Claire.

Sam Robson, an entrepreneur from Ipswich, is passionate about music and education.

Palm tree plantations have a big environmental impact and this is one of the main reasons Katie decided to develop her own recipe, one which didn’t use this ingredient.

Karoline Gross always wanted to do her own thing and Start Up Loans helped her do just that.

The company provides bespoke driver guided tours of Yorkshire. We caught up with him to find out what the first year of trading has been like.

Standing out from the competition can be hard for a small business, especially when the number of competitors is constantly increasing.

Laura Burlison from Northumberland received her Start Up Loan 18 months ago and used it to start 'The Paddock – Fresh Food Delivered from the Land to your Hand.'

Office Pantry deliver snack packs and fresh fruit to offices right across the UK, with an optional honesty box for school staff rooms and companies on tight budgets.

Pip Howeson is dedicated to the rejuvenation of the British textile industry, offering a bespoke tailoring service of handcrafted coats and jackets.

Tony Singh was unemployed before starting his own business, Caffe Venecia, in the centre of Huddersfield in November 2013.

Mike Turner and his partner Krisi started their Brighton-based tea mixology company, Bird & Blend Tea Co., with the help of a Start Up Loan.

Start Up Loan recipient Andrew McAlpine took out a loan to help develop his flower kiosk, Rockflower.

Father of two David O’Neal opened his children’s hair salon Shortcuts with the help of a Start Up Loan.

Katie Henry received a Start Up Loan to help develop her business Art in Offices,providing contemporary art at affordable prices to fill empty office walls.

Lucy & Meriel both received a Start Up Loan of £7,000 for their frozen yoghurt ice lolly business Claudi & Fin.

After winning the ‘PitchUp to Sainsbury’s’ competition in 2013, the lollies are now stocked in over 700 stores across the UK and Ireland. We spoke to co-founder Lucy Woodhouse about her startup experience of finding workspace and how it has changed as the business has developed.