Mayor congratulates recipients of Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council’s Enterprise Fund
Fri, July 09, 2021
The Mayor of Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council has hosted a special reception for the recipients of this year’s Enterprise Fund.
The entrepreneurs were invited to the event hosted by Councillor Richard Holmes at Cloonavin on Thursday 8th July, which was also attended by special guest, Hope Macauley.
A previous recipient of the Enterprise Fund, Hope spoke about its impact on her highly successful fashion business which has gone on to receive international recognition.
She said: “The Enterprise Fund was very significant financial support at the right time for my new business as it allowed me to identify, attract and engage with new customers from all around the world. This in turn increased sales, heightened my profile and gave employment to local people. I am very grateful to be a recipient of The Enterprise Fund.”
Offering his congratulations to Hope, and this year’s successful applicants, the Mayor said: “It was inspiring to hear directly from Hope about the opportunities the Enterprise Fund helped to create for her.
“Council is delighted to have been able to support Hope in this way - she is a wonderful ambassador for Causeway Coast and Glens as she takes her unique, vibrant designs across the globe.
“We recognise that new businesses are the cornerstone of the local economy and that they are now facing even greater challenges on the path to sustained viability.
“Council’s Enterprise Fund has proven to be a hugely positive initiative and as Mayor I am very proud that we are helping to support innovative businesses as they set out to achieve further success.
“We look forward to seeing how they use the funding to expand and develop in the months ahead. They can also be assured that our support won’t stop here as Council also provides varied digital support avenues and mentoring programmes as their business journey continues.”
The Enterprise Fund is an annual grant initiative set up by Council to assist young businesses (less than two years old) to achieve the next step in their growth plan.
In 2021, the fund was shared by 15 different businesses, from a range of sectors including manufacturing and engineering, tourism, retail and wholesale and creative industries.
This year’s successful applicants are:
- Admin Answers NI (Kilrea)
- Charlotte Smyth Art (Limavady)
- Copperlane (Coleraine)
- Customised Prints & Embroidery (Ballykelly)
- Fairhead Furniture (Ballycastle)
- Hass Crafts (Dungiven)
- Karen Crudden Physio (Greysteel)
- OBG Fabrications Ltd. (Coleraine)
- Olivia’s Haven (Coleraine)
- Powered EVNI (Portstewart)
- Steel Yard Café (Ballymoney)
- The Old Bushmills Barn (Bushmills)
- The Hay Loft (Stranocum)
- Wheelie Clean NI (Dungiven)
- White River Charters Ltd. (Coleraine)
Business profiles
The Hay Loft, Stranocum
The Hay Loft holiday accommodation, located on a working sheep farm in Stranocum, opened in April 2021 and is ideally located close to many of Causeway Coast and Glens most popular tourist attractions making it the ideal base for families and couples. In addition, breakfast, BBQ packs, a prosecco welcome and afternoon tea are all available to purchase alongside your stay.
Premium Clean NI, Dungiven
Premium Clean NI is an external cleaning and property maintenance company based in Dungiven, operating across Northern Ireland with both domestic and commercial customers with services ranging from changing a light bulb to chemical washing! It offers roof scrape and chemical treatments to remove moss and algae, power washing services, and has a new market leading engine driven rotary brush to remove moss off tarmac and driveways.
Admin Answers, Kilrea
Admin Answers based in Kilrea offers professional virtual assistant services including administration, customer service excellence training, word processing, email and calendar management, business set up advice, research, human resource advice & administration, project management and data entry to small and medium sized local businesses/enterprises.
Hass Crafts, Dungiven
Hass Crafts offer a range of embroidery and mini quilt kits using Irish Linen sourced in Kells, County Antrim. Each kit is made at home in Dungiven and contains full instructions, Irish Linen, needle, and embroidery thread. The business hopes to expand in the near future to run afternoon tea experiences where customers can enjoy afternoon tea while they learn to embroider.
White River Charters, Coleraine
White River Charters is a new tourism company, established in 2020. Recognising the growing demand for quality visitor experiences, outdoor enthusiasts and Causeway Coast locals, Fiona Bryant and Ian McKnight, have developed relaxing river cruises onboard the classic wooden boat MV Kingfisher along the Lower River Bann from Coleraine. The boat, a harbour launch, built by the world-famous shipbuilders, Harland and Wolff in the historic Belfast Shipyard in1947, has been carefully restored for this purpose.
Powered EVNI, Portstewart
Powered EVNI provides the supply, installation, maintenance and yearly testing of electric vehicle charging points for domestic and commercial customers. The business can assist the local authority, local inhabitants and visitors. The business offers customers advice on the best electric charger to meet their needs, including the ability to charge via solar power. The service includes installation of electric charging points and the electric groundwork required for installation.
Fairhead Furniture, Ballycastle
Fairhead Furniture manufactures bespoke indoor and outdoor furniture. This includes innovative outdoor steel Christmas trees, personalised fire pits, garden furniture, gym equipment and steel signs. All products are manufactured to an excellent standard to ensure longevity and customer satisfaction and feature a forward thinking, modern design.
Customised Prints & Embroidery, Ballykelly
Customised Prints & Embroidery is a family business established in July 2020 offering customised products including face masks, aprons and work wear along with the supply PPE, gloves, trousers, shirts, t-shirts, jackets, fleeces, caps and jerseys. It also offers a good range of environmentally friendly organic, recycled and Fairtrade garments.
OBG Fabrications, Coleraine
OBG Fabrications Ltd was set up to offer fabrication and welding services, repair and refurbishment of trailers with the goal of developing its own brand of trailers for the agri industry. During the challenges created by COVID-19, it has concentrated on maximising the demand for sub-contract fabrication in the borough and has increased its work force to five full time employees.
The Old Bushmills Barn
The Old Bushmills Barn is a grade ll listed Georgian barn dating back to the 1700's and now converted into luxurious self-catering accommodation. The restoration transformed the building and created four ensuite bedrooms, two lounges, garden, terrace, tennis court, fully furnished kitchen, balcony with sea views and a large private car park.
Copper Lane, Coleraine
Copper Lane comprises of both a beauty room and online gift shop. Copper Lane Beauty is a home beauty business providing a range of treatments. During lockdown, an online gift shop called Copper Lane Gift Co. was established with a desire to make gift buying as convenient yet thoughtful as possible, sourcing a variety of luxury products from small independent businesses. Its own jewellery range was launched in February 2021 and the company now plans to launch its own soy candles.
Steel Yard Café, Ballymoney
Steel Yard Cafe is a mobile catering unit based in Ballymoney serving a range of fresh food products and roasted ground coffee. Fresh local produce, cooked with passion, is the ethos of the business and its speciality item, buttermilk brined fried chicken, is hand-breaded and cooked to order. The business recently took on a new member of staff, and is aiming to expand its opening hours as demand grows.
Karen Crudden Physio, Greysteel
Karen Crudden is a passionate pelvic health physiotherapist who wants to improve the lives of men and women affected by pelvic health issues and provide the highest quality professional and confidential care. Karen also provides Pilates classes tailored for pregnancy, postnatal and the over 50s, allowing participants to exercise in a safe and supportive environment as well as providing pelvic health education.
Charlotte Smyth Art, Limavady
Charlotte Smyth Art provides a range of hand painted art pieces focusing on animals and landscapes native to the Northern Ireland, together with complementary homeware products under the brand name Wool Hill Homeware. Customers can purchase artwork for their home as well as interior décor items to accessorise and finish a living space, or as a luxury gift. Customers can also request commissioned bespoke paintings which are personalised to their specific needs, including size and colour.
Olivia’s Haven, Coleraine
Olivia’s Haven is a Digitally Native Vertical Brand (DNVB) which started trading in February 2020. The company aims to fill a gap in the market for a home fragrance collection with a luxury sophisticated scent profile that is visually stunning and at an attainable price point. The collection currently includes hand-made soy wax candles, reed diffusers, wax melts, gift boxes and gift bags. The product range is produced locally in Coleraine and the company has already grown to a team of 5 and is now planning to expand to a second location.
