North West business briefs: Redwood Bank; Fluent Money Group; Bunnies That Lunch; Women in the Law UK; AMBS
A Warrington Challenger Bank has helped secure the future of a mental health facility, having recognised how vital its services are amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Nestlings Care, a specialist care business which rents a property in Prestwich, spoke with Russell Halter of Precise Commercial who recommended Redwood Bank for assistance when handed the opportunity to purchase the building. The main shareholder of the business, Dr Faeza Khan, was seeking funding of £750,000 to complete the transaction, so she approached Redwood Bank because of its reputation for lending to small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs).
Gary Wilkinson, CEO and co-founder of Redwood Bank, which has an office in Warrington, said: “With so much uncertainty surrounding us all at the moment, it felt great to be able to assist, given that mental health is an absolute priority right now. When Dr Khan approached us about helping to raise funds to purchase her business property, we knew we needed to help.
“Business aside, everyone has been affected by COVID-19 in the last year in some form. Lockdown, school closures, hospital admissions and the daily news bulletins, are bound to have taken their toll, so we wanted to be able to try and ensure that Dr Khan could continue with her incredible work. As it turns out, her business case was also very compelling.”
Dr Khan is also the consultant psychiatrist of a mental health hospital and a well-respected healthcare professional. She has successfully run Nestlings Care for nine years, which was taken into account by Redwood Bank when approving the loan. The approval took just days to be completed and the purchase went through without a hitch, allowing Dr Khan to continue running her business, which so many people have come to rely on.
Russell Halter, business development director at Precise Commercial, who brokered the deal, said: “Redwood plugs a gap in the market where cases don’t fit the vanilla lending of the high street. They can be flexible and look at a deal on its own merit. They also stand behind their decisions which, for a broker, is great, as it means we can continue to deliver a seamless experience for our clients.”
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Paul Ford
Fast-growing fintech Fluent Money Group has announced its partnership with aggregator NerdWallet as part of exciting and ambitious growth plans.
Following a successful competitive tender process, digital intermediary Bolton-based Fluent will work with NerdWallet as its exclusive partner for secured loans, mortgages and equity release in the UK marketplace, supporting the aggregator with building its brand and market share.
NerdWallet is a San Francisco-based fintech, providing resources for people looking for finance and financial guidance. The business entered the UK aggregator market last year, acquiring Know Your Money, a provider of clear and simple comparisons on financial products, with a view to driving market share in the UK. Through its partnership with Fluent, NerdWallet will have access to Fluent’s broad panel of lenders. Its customers will also benefit from Fluent’s market leading digital journey through its MyFluent App.
Paul Ford, Fluent group commercial director, said: “We’re really excited to be working with NerdWallet following a successful tender process, and this is very much part of our strategy to become the platform of choice for aggregators in the UK. Since founding the business in 2008, we have gone from strength to strength, working with the aggregators, providing a market leading approach to supporting customers on their financial journey.”
Jason Tassie, commercial director at Nerdwallet, said: “We are excited to be building on our already successful partnership with Fluent Money with the launches of mortgages and equity release. It made perfect sense for us to partnership with Fluent with their technology driven approach to these products coupled with a wide panel of lenders for users to choose from.”
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Bunnies That Lunch
A unique subscription box service that caters for rabbits and guinea pigs has surpassed £1.5m turnover, as orders surge during the pandemic.
The business was founded in 2017 by Jessica McCarthy. After noticing the popularity of cat and dog subscription boxes, Jessica felt there was a gap in the market for a service for smaller animal owners. So with just £200 to her name, she took the risk and launched.
Since then the business has gone on to surpass Jessica’s expectations. The business has increased its orders month-on-month, sometimes by as much as 50%. Bunnies That Lunch now has more than 125,000 followers on Instagram and exports across the world, with almost 60% of its customers based in the US.
Last year Jessica was named as the Great British Entrepreneur Awards Start-Up Entrepreneur of the Year in the North West, and she said winning the award helped the business kick on during the pandemic: “Since winning the award, we’ve gone from strength to strength.
“We had our biggest Christmas ever, more than doubling the previous year. Our Instagram account has rocketed and that’s really helped us reach new customers.”
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Sally Penni
The founder of Women in the Law UK, Manchester lawyer Sally Penni, has launched a new podcast series aimed at sharing best practice in the legal profession and beyond. In the ‘Law and Guidance’ series, Ms Penni and a range of expert guests provide in depth insights into a range of topics relating to the law as it is practised, and how it interacts with society at large.
The series, which will be updated monthly, already includes episodes discussing non-fatal strangulation, the role of intermediaries in the Courts, and communication skills for lawyers. Topics planned for the months ahead include bad character evidence, joint enterprise, and a range of issues relating to employment law.
The series builds on the success of Women in the Law UK’s ‘Talking Law’ podcast series, which was launched in 2019, in which Ms Penni talks to leaders in the legal profession about their careers and opinions. This new series complements ‘Talking Law’ by discussing laws themselves, and the ways these are applied in practice.
Ms Penni is a barrister-at-law, practising out of Kenworthy’s Chambers in Manchester, and is a Bencher at Gray’s Inn. As well as chairing Women in the Law UK she is also co-vice chair of the Association of Women Barristers. She said: “Over the past two years I have been privileged to interview some of the most eminent, interesting and entertaining individuals working in and around the legal profession for ‘Talking Law’. I am hugely proud of this as a body of work, and my guests continue to provide an incredible range of insights that will be of value to anyone, male or female, building a career in the law.
“However, I felt there was also a gap in the market for an accessible, engaging podcast relating to the actual application of the law of the land, particularly in relation to the more complex aspects of criminal and employment law in which I practice. ‘Law and Guidance’ will draw on my 20 years’ experience at the Bar, and the insights of a range of special guests, to make these issues accessible to lawyers who might be encountering them for the first time.”
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Vikas Shah
Fifteen teams of Manchester-based entrepreneurs have been awarded cash prizes as part of the annual Venture Further start-up competition.
Run by Alliance Manchester Business School’s Masood Entrepreneurship Centre and hosted by Vikas Shah, entrepreneur, alumnus and Honorary Professor at AMBS, the competition invites students and recent graduates to submit their business proposals to an expert judging panel of enterprise and business professionals.
The competition offers an exclusive opportunity to win a significant cash injection to help kick-start their business ideas. Each of the five categories – Environmental, Healthcare, Services, Social and Technology – saw a total of 25 shortlisted entries compete for the top cash prize of £10,000. Second place winners were awarde £3,500 and third place £1,500.
Winners this year included What’s Fresh, a technology platform enabling customers to order high quality fresh local produce, by modernising the ‘shop local’ experience; Simplex Modular, a biotech start-up developing a new diagnostic system to detect antibiotic-resistant bacteria; and IGOLO, an online hub promoting sustainability in the home construction industry by making the know how, materials and expertise more accessible to homeowners.
Lynn Sheppard, director of the Masood Entrepreneurship Centre at AMBS, said: “The Venture Further start-up competition continues to evolve, and as it does it plays an important role in highlighting and nurturing the wide range of entrepreneurial students and alumni at Alliance Manchester Business School and across The University of Manchester.”
