Fuse Fund, a two year £4m Regional Growth Fund (RGF) programme to help young businesses in Lancashire achieve their growth plans, has made its first award to a Skelmersdale based business.
Hivehaus, an innovative modular living space developer that featured on Channel 4’s ‘George Clarke’s Amazing Spaces’, has been awarded a grant of £7,936, which is part of a total investment of £23,810. The grant has enabled the Dalton based business purchase a bespoke, web-based 3D configuration tool and app, as well as other items that have helped bring the product to market.
Barry Jackson, inventor of Hivehaus, came up with the original design for the hexagon shaped flat panelled structure after watching a television programme about bees making honeycomb structures and after contacting Channel 4 with the idea, the concept soon became a real life prototype.
After the success of prototype and interest from both the commercial sector and the consumer, Barry and business partner Richard Fletcher took the decision to develop it for market.
Commenting on the awarding of the Fuse Fund grant, Managing Director Richard Fletcher said: “The Fuse Fund helped us make the leap from Hivehaus being a concept to a commercial reality and ensure that we had various elements in place such as units, forklift trucks and an app on the website so potential buyers can configure their own space and get an idea of how much it will cost.”
“We’re delighted to say that we’re due to complete our first commercial project very soon at a local children’s nursery and work continues on evolving the design further so it has as wide appeal as possible in both the commercial and residential contexts.”
Grants of between £5,000 and £50,000 are being offered by Fuse Fund which is supported by the Government’s Regional Growth Fund, contributing a quarter of the overall cost for capital investment projects such as machinery, property improvement, building expansion, infrastructure improvement, bespoke software and CRM systems in businesses trading for less than 36 months.
Commenting on the awarding of the Fuse Fund grant, Steven Cochrane, Director at Regenerate Pennine Lancashire said: “The Fuse Fund has been specifically created to help ambitious and exciting young businesses like Hivehaus grow. It really is a ground breaking product which is receiving a great deal of attention not only within the UK but internationally too;. We’re delighted that the grant is contributing to their success by providing them the solid base on which to grow.”
“We hope other young businesses in the Skelmerdale and Wigan areas that are looking to grow are inspired by their ambition and look forward to receiving many more applications from the area”.
Priority is being given to businesses in the manufacturing, digital and creative, environmental and energy technology sectors, but projects from other business to business sectors are also considered. Applications must be made to the Fuse Fund before 31 December 2014.
Fuse Fund is a private and public sector partnership led by Regenerate Pennine Lancashire and Lancashire Business View, with support provided by Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council.
For further information and eligibility criteria visit www.fusefund.co.uk or call 0800 612 2029.
