SME: Stuart James Financial Solutions; Rabbit Hill; Harrison Spinks
A NEW financial solutions business is aiming to make life easier for businesses by simplifying business finance and insurance.
Stuart James Financial Solutions has been launched by Shelley Wilson, a former telecoms sales and marketing director, and Stuart Borchard, who was born into a family run insurance business and has worked in the industry for over 25 years with organisations such as the Cooperative Insurance society, Lehman Brothers and HL Partnership.
Ms Wilson said: “We set the business up because, despite our industry backgrounds, we were confused ourselves when we were searching for insurance for car, home, landlords, life, illness and private medical insurance.
“We felt most products were not meeting our requirements because of the small print and it was a real challenge trying to manage them all with different providers.”
The pair decided to take a different approach with Stuart James Financial Solutions. As well as offering advice on traditional products such as general insurance, business and personal protection, mortgages, commercial lending, wills and trusts, the business offers innovative products such as health insurance, life assurance, income protection that promotes health and wellbeing.”
“It’s about being a bit different and giving people what they want so some of our protection policies will offer benefits such as annual cash back for demonstrating health and fitness, weekly cinema tickets, discounted gym membership and other similar features,” said Ms Wilson.
“We work on behalf of the client not the lender or insurer, hence we offer whole of market services and are not tied to any company, meaning our clients know they are getting the right product or service for them.”
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FARMERS and pet owners can gain expert advice and browse products to care for their animals at a new county store that has launched in North Yorkshire.
Rabbit Hill Country Store, which has cerated six jobs, is a one-stop-shop catering for the rural community, offering farm, equine, pet and gardening supplies.
Located between Harrogate and York in a former barn on the new £3m Rabbit Hill development, Rabbit Hill Country Store will open six days a week, with late-night shopping on a Thursday.
Stocking all things rural, from grass seeds and fertilisers to domestic animal feeds and beddings, owners Katy Bielby and Glenn Brown will also bring their expertise in farming and animal care to Rabbit Hill.
Ms Bielby said: “We are very passionate about animal health and care and are qualified and registered to sell a range of products that you wouldn’t be able to buy in many normal stores.”
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SPINK & EDGAR, the Leeds-based mattress brand by innovative bed makers Harrison Spinks, has launched in the US.
The Spink & Edgar USA collection features the bed manufacturer’s spring technology, as well as a host of natural materials including wool, hemp and flax, grown on Harrison Spinks’ own 300-acre farm in North Yorkshire.
As licensor of the Spink & Edgar brand, the Harrison Spinks team is working with brothers Mark and Jeff Quinn and Lance and Neil Ellman to launch the new collection in the US.
Simon Spinks, managing director at Harrison Spinks, said: “Mark, Jeff, Lance and Neil all have a large amount of experience in the retail bedding sector, so to work with them to launch Spink & Edgar USA is really exciting.
“As a fifth generation family business, I’m hugely proud to see Harrison Spinks branching out into the US market by launching Spink & Edgar USA. We’re the only bed manufacturer in the world to have a farm on which we grow our own natural fillings for our mattresses and, by exporting these natural materials to the US as part of the Spink & Edgar USA manufacturing process, we’re positioning ourselves as the world’s most innovative bed manufacturer.”
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