Seven up as M&S rewards promising entrepreneurs

High street giant Marks & Spencer has awarded investment packages in its latest Community Business Challenge, held in Liverpool.

Seven shortlisted applicants presented to a judging panel comprising M&S and Power to Change representatives.

And following a period of deliberation, in an unexpected turn of events it was revealed that, due to the exceptionally high standard of all the shortlisted projects and their passionate presentations on the day, all seven of the community businesses were to be awarded with support and funding.

Originally, just five winners were to be chosen.

Each of the winners will now receive £10,000, and business support. They included:

• Target Football in Toxteth, which will be developing plans to improve and expand the Stany Fields sports centre so that it reaches more people, offering more sporting activities, and benefiting the community.
• The Rotunda in Kirkdale will develop plans for the Rotunda Garden Bistro, which will include the creation of a new healthy menu, staff training and a new external event catering service.
• Lister Steps, which provides affordable childcare in Tuebrook, will be developing a skills and education programme, community gardens and a café. The team will use their win to get M&S expertise to refresh their brand and reach more people.
• Kitty’s Laundrette in Anfield is a new project offering affordable, environmentally-friendly washing facilities along with social and creative activities. Their win will help them develop their business operations to ensure they have a successful opening and build strong foundations for the future.
• HomeGrown Collective, which delivers horticulture training in Anfield, will be exploring and developing innovative new food and drinks projects with the expertise of M&S staff. Their planned projects include a hydroponics lab to grow microgreens for local restaurants and recycling bread waste for beer production.
• Homebaked, a community bakery in Anfield, will be using the support to help their relocation to a new production facility which will allow them to offer more training and free up space in their existing kitchen for new community baking courses.
• The Florrie, a community heritage venue in Dingle will be developing exciting new plans for a community café, and employing a new chef to develop a delicious and affordable menu.

Sam Jones, of community business HomeGrown Collective, said: “This has been a fantastic opportunity for all of us. It hasn’t been just about the funding available, it’s the unique opportunity to work with M&S that has attracted us all.

“To use their experience to help us move forward with our businesses makes it a really exciting period for all of us.”

Lynne Winstanley, from The Rotunda, added: “Today has been absolutely overwhelming and I’m stunned.

“As organisations we’re all really supportive of each other and we’re ecstatic with the extraordinary result. Every penny will make such a difference and change the lives of the local residents we all support through our community businesses.”

Rachael O’Byrne from Kitty’s Laundrette said: “The really brilliant thing about community businesses is that we do support each other and help each other to solve problems.

“The support and funding will help us on the operational side once we have opened in the new year. We are going to need support on the commercial side to make Kitty’s as successful as possible.”

The Community Business programme has been piloted in the Liverpool City Region in 2018, as part of M&S’s Community Transformation Programme.

The retailer is currently trialling a range of actions in Liverpool to help tackle the issues that matter most to communities – such as unemployment, skill shortages, loneliness, mental health and wellbeing.

Pete Swallow, head of Merseyside region at M&S, said: “This has been a great opportunity for businesses across the Liverpool City Region and I’m thrilled that we have learnt about so many incredible ventures across the city through this process.

“The engagement from customers and communities, as well as the community businesses, has been heartening to see and we have been proud to raise awareness of some of the amazing work of the shortlisted businesses in our Liverpool store.”

He added: “We have big ambitions for this project to have a lasting impact regarding the sustainability of the community businesses we have supported.

“Their success has a long-term impact on their local communities, from the opportunities they offer for young and old, to investment in the local area through regeneration and business funding.”

Vidhya Alakeson, chief executive of Power to Change, added: “Today’s showcase event has provided a real insight into the collaborative, creative projects with people at their heart that exist in Liverpool.

“The visible way in which the community businesses have supported each other through the whole programme reaffirmed that they were all winners, and incredible assets to Liverpool.”

The programme is based on grant funding administered by programme partner Power to Change, while M&S leads on the business skills training.