North Tyneside based Grow Sow Simple struck a deal - in front of millions of viewers of TV's Dragons' Den.
Viewers who tuned into the hit BBC One show last week saw Dan Robson pitch ideas for his company, which he launched in 2014 to ‘get people growing’ . The firm's boxes of seeds that can be planted direct into the soil or plant pots, with the pod protecting the seeds as they begin to germinate, before breaking down naturally in the soil, leaving no waste.
In the Dragons’ Den, retail specialist Sara Davies, who runs multimillion-pound craft brand Crafter’s Companion alongside her husband Simon in Newton Aycliffe, saw potential in Mr Robson’s company and jumped at the chance to invest £80,000 in exchange for a 20% share of the business.
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Mr Robson said: “I’ve always been a huge fan of Dragons’ Den, and after many years of shouting at the TV, my wife convinced me to apply to appear on the programme. Entering the Den is very different to watching it at home; it was by far one of the challenging experiences of my life, but I couldn’t be happier with the outcome. Investment from Sara is the absolute dream having witnessed what she has achieved for North East business.
“The idea for my company was born out of my passions for sustainability and making gardening accessible. I am delighted that Sara, whose phenomenal brand was also created off the back of her own obsession for crafting, saw potential in our company at this critical phase in our journey.”
Durham manufacturer Apex Core secured a major capital city contract as more developers embrace its products. Apex Core designs, develops and manufactures prefabricated utility cupboards – hubs which can house heating, ventilation, electrical, communication and metering services – and it has delivered more than 6,400 units to sites since its launch. The firm was created three years ago when Apex Wiring Solutions owners Dave and Mike Lewis invested over £500,000 to create the UK’s largest utility cupboard manufacturing facility at the firm’s HQ in Durham City.
Now the firm has delivered 75 units for R8 King’s Cross, a regeneration project in the heart of London which has offices and homes in two, 13-storey blocks that are linked by a two-storey podium with a landscaped roof garden. The company said that more construction companies are now embracing the benefits that modular units, constructed off-site and delivered ready to install, offer. Apex Core sales director Paul Hopps said: “Modular solutions offer so much to an industry still catching up after the impact of the pandemic.
“They’re faster to install, promote distanced working, arrive ready to simply “plug in” and offer the simplicity most tradesmen crave. R8 Kings Cross is an exciting project, but it’s happening in a very busy, very congested part of one of the busiest and most congested cities in the world. Apex Core arrives on site with minimal packaging, ready to fit and, as such, causes very little on-site disruption.
North East fashion rental firm Hirestreet has announced that popular clothing company Warehouse has become the latest firm to join its platform.
The Newcastle city centre business, which was launched five years ago by entrepreneur Isabella West in response to fast and throwaway fashion, gives customers the chance to rent outfits rather than buy items they would potentially only wear once before discarding them. Since launching with the rental of just a few dresses, the firm now sends out thousands of outfits on a weekly basis, while also teaming up with major retailers through its white label platform Zoa Rental, including the likes of M&S, River Island, Oasis, Nobody’s Child, Lipsy and Decathlon.
Now Hirestreet has announced that customers can rent clothing from fashion favourite Warehouse on its rental website in a collection which includes occasion dresses, co-ordinates and suits. Warehouse’s first rental edit is made up of 13 pieces from its main collection, including latest styles from the popular Icons collection.
Ms West, managing director and founder at Hirestreet, said: “Launching another iconic British fashion brand onto Hirestreet is a hugely exciting start to 2023, and the sign of things to come in the year ahead as we continue driving the fashion rental revolution. This rental collection is highly-data backed, it has been curated based on thousands of customer-data points, and we are really optimistic about its potential.”
A new North East cyber security business unveiled ambitious growth plans after launching with an initial £200,000 investment to plough into product development.
Newcastle based SalesLynk has been launched by tech specialists Ian Todd, Alan Easton and Neil Stephenson, with the aim of supporting the global cyber security market. The SalesLynk trio have set out on a sales and marketing campaign to aggressively scale the business over the next three years, after creating a data-driven business intelligence platform to help cyber security sales teams around the world.
The firm – led by chief executive Mr Todd, chief technology officer Mr Easton and chair Mr Stephenson – aims to have team of 10 by the end of 2023 and it will roll out to Europe and North America following the UK launch. Mr Todd said: “The SalesLynk platform is ground-breaking for both the cyber security sector and the global sales teams employed within it. Early indicators show the potential return on investment will be transformative, saving tens of hours per week for sales people, removing the vast majority of the manual effort that goes into sales research and dramatically speeding up sales cycles.
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