North West business briefs: Toast in the Post; Liverpool FC; Cheshire West & Chester Council; Manchester United

An entrepreneurial couple from Blackpool are celebrating their online drinks gift business A Toast in the Post, after it sold more than 3,500 drinks and won two national awards in six months.

David and Jane Charnley have worked in the events industry for more than 20 years and set up the online gift company last year, after realising the extended long-term impact COVID-19 would have on their exhibitions and wedding businesses – creating a much-needed lifeline and focus for them in difficult times.

A Toast in the Post allows people to celebrate the special moments in life when they cannot be together by sending a drink of your choice through the post, together with a personalised photo message card.

The couple have just sent their 3,500th drink and won Dragons’ Den star Theo Paphitis’s national Small Business Sunday (SBS) award. A Toast in the Post has also had other celebrity endorsements, with Britain’s Got Talent start Amanda Holden praising their venture when being sent a toast for her 50th birthday, as well as winning the national Women of Wednesday (WOW) award, set up by Jaqueline Gold of Ann Summers.

David said: “It’s been a whirlwind six months, seeing daily orders triple from our original expectations and trying to keep up with demand for people wanting to let loved ones know they are thinking about them in these difficult times. It’s not been easy – we’ve gone from running an exhibition and a wedding business for more than two decades, to setting up an e-commerce website in a few months, with all hands on deck sourcing 100% recyclable packaging, the right miniature alcoholic drinks and posting from our storage cupboard in our Blackpool warehouse. But seeing sales grow and winning a national award by a well-renowned Dragons’ Den entrepreneur certainly makes all the long nights of packing worth it.”

Jane thought of ‘A Toast in the Post’ on a car journey two years ago when she was unable to attend a close relative’s funeral and thought it would be nice to send the family his favourite drink with a message and a treasured photo of him, to celebrate his life when she couldn’t be there in person: “The idea has been with us ever since,” she added.

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Dreamtex LFC throw

Chorley-based boutique bedding specialist Dreamtex will be working with Liverpool FC as they team together on licensed
homewares.

Dreamtex is launching an initial duvet design with the famous Liverpool FC crest dominating the front cover and pillowcases in both single and double size sets. Fans can flip the duvet over for a repeat crest pattern on a white background, giving them two choices to show their club allegiance in their bedrooms.

A red fleece blanket featuring the club badge and anthem words “You’ll Never Walk Alone” will also form part of the launch range, with more designs planned for the coming season.

Anthony Duckworth, Dreamtex managing director, said: “We are thrilled to be working with Liverpool FC’s licensing team on home décor merchandise and to be sharing in the success story of one of the world’s biggest and most successful football clubs.

“We hope LFC fans will love the opportunity to show their support from their bedrooms with our official bedding.”

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Cllr Carol Gahan

Cheshire West and Chester Council is urging businesses to make use of the Restart Grants scheme which could provide thousands of pounds-worth of government grant funding to help them get back up and running following lockdown.

The grants are for businesses that were forced to close during national lockdown and those that remained open. It is a one-off payment being distributed by the council.

There are two types of grant available: Strand One is for non-essential businesses which could receive a grant of up to £6,000 based on their rateable value; Strand Two is for hospitality, accommodation, leisure, personal care and gyms or sport, who could receive a grant of up to £18,000 based on their rateable value.

For those businesses that do not have a rateable value but fall into the business sectors in Strand One and Strand Two, support is available and businesses can apply under the Additional Restrictions Grant scheme. Further details are available on the Council’s website. Since last October, the Council has made more than 22,0000 grant payments totalling more than £40m.

Cllr Carol Gahan, cabinet member for finance, said: “Paying the grants as quickly as we can has been a priority since the start of the pandemic. To make the application process as quick as possible please make sure all sections of the form are completed and only one application is made, this will avoid additional questions and having to identify duplicate applications.”

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Manchester United Foundation has donated £50,000 to the UK Committee for UNICEF and Crowdfunder’s VaccinAid campaign, helping to support the biggest vaccine drive in history. The donation will contribute towards UNICEF’s mission to lead on the delivery of two billion COVID-19 vaccines around the world on behalf of the global COVAX Facility.

The foundation has committed £1m to the COVID-19 response since the pandemic hit in March 2020, of which the £50,000 donation to the VaccinAid campaign could fund the cold chain equipment needed to deliver more than 550,000 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine around the world.

The cold chain refers to precisely coordinated events in temperature-controlled environments to store, manage and transport these life-saving products.

On behalf of the global COVAX Facility, UNICEF is working with manufacturers and partners on the procurement of two billion COVID-19 vaccine doses, as well as freight, logistics and storage. UNICEF is leading the procurement for COVID-19 vaccines for 191 countries, as well as on the delivery of the vaccines for 92 low- and lower middle-income countries.

Gordon Glick, deputy executive director for partnerships at The UK Committee for UNICEF, said: “We’re incredibly grateful for the ongoing support we have received from Manchester United Foundation, a valued partner of UNICEF UK for more than 22 years.”

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