Case Studies

Rachel Munro, founder of The Rebel Baker runs a growing bakery business that can produce over 10,000 cookies per day.

A renowned restaurant venue in the heart of Anstruther has been given a fresh lease of life with its new owners launching their latest venture, a wine and tapas bar called The Cellar at 24.

Founder George Greer received a loan from the British Business Bank and Virgin StartUp in September 2022 to expand his line of sustainable dog waste bags, following a surge in demand from consumers in the USA.

A family-run occasion wear rental service has moved into a new boutique in Muir of Ord on the Black Isle, offering luxury outfits at a fraction of their retail price to hire for special events.

A Gen Z 23-year-old hotel worker is embarking on her own hospitality venture, after securing funding to purchase and restore a rustic shepherd’s hut on the North Coast 500.

Physicists Charles Altuzarra and Yash D Shah, founders of Metahelios each received a £25,000 loan in July 2022 to kickstart their business. They are aiming to deploy the technology into space on a rocket from one of the UK’s spaceport sites, capturing data via a satellite that can be used to monitor climate change and orbiting space debris.

Glasgow-based DamGoodDrams, an ecommerce platform specialising in independent spirits, is gearing up to launch its own line of whisky and take its business overseas, following a successful first year.

In April 2022, Emma and Sebastian took out a loan of £20,000 each to set up Pastéis Lisboa, Scotland’s first specialist Pastel de Nata bakery, in the heart of Glasgow’s buzzing West End.

The local community is at the heart of Joanie's Music, with the retro-inspired guitar shop in Stirling encouraging people to get back into music during the recent Covid-19 lockdown.

Helen Conway alongside her daughter Angharad and son-in-law Lance, launched their bakery business Ty Melin Bakery during coronavirus lockdown in March 2020. The trio had discussed starting a family venture for several years and had had an initial business plan drafted for over 2 ½ years.

Margarita Veberaite and fellow co-founders, Josefa Celestin and Fraser Stephen launched their business, Shakehaus in April 2016. A creative video and production agency based in Edinburgh. All three partners each received funding from Start Up Loans to help them launch the business.

Katie had a genuine interest and passion for art, carpentry and upholstery. To enhance her talents she took a number of relevant courses at Glasgow College in 2013 and 2014 to secure a series of industry-recognised qualifications. This led to her submitting a piece into the Trades House Craftex competition in 2015 and was presented with the Marie Haring Prize for exceptional work and effort. Katie leveraged her customer service experience and years of various work experience to go solo, and launched The Krooked Kat in Perth, Scotland.

Sharon Shearer launched her business Superior Bathrooms when she was made redundant, using her career expertise to get her started.

Lauren and Mark used a Start Up Loan to help fund their growth, helping them fulfill large orders to nationwide retailers.