Two young Mansfield entrepreneurs have received a small business loan to help set up a pet grooming boutique.

Leeann Wilkinson (21) and Kerry Eaton (20) are the youngest people in the region to receive funding from EnterpriseLoans East Midlands. The £10,000 loan helped them to set up and open their new pet salon; Animal Kingdom Pet Parlour.

Established by East Midlands Development Agency (emda) and managed by the First Enterprise Business Agency (FEBA), EnterpriseLoans East Midlands provides businesses and entrepreneurs with loans of between £3,000 and £20,000.

Leeann, Kerry and their specialist team provide grooming services to all kinds of animals, including dogs, cats and guinea pigs. They provide beauty treatments including washing, cutting, styling and pedicures; pet sitting and walking services; and even a pet ambulance for older people who need assistance when taking their pets to the vets.

“We are delighted that EnterpriseLoans East Midlands has enabled us to set up our business,” said Leeann.  “Kerry and I have a great passion for animals and have been working in the industry for the past six years.  We spotted an opportunity to set up a pet grooming boutique in this area, as there didn’t seem to be any businesses which provided the range of services and experience that we offer our clients.

“We were advised to approach EnterpriseLoans East Midlands, who helped us develop our business plan and cash flow forecast. The process also allowed us to clearly evaluate and assess our strengths and weaknesses in support of our loan application, making us aware of the areas that we needed to develop.

“We have been open for seven weeks now and things are going from strength to strength. In fact, we’ve already looked after over 150 dogs which is fantastic and our cutting, styling and blow-drying treatments are proving to be really popular.”

Offering advice for other budding entrepreneurs, Quamar Zaman, Chief Executive of FEBA said, “EnterpriseLoans East Midlands is a sustainable source of funding which addresses the difficulties of accessing finance and I am sure that there are more people of all ages in Mansfield with viable ideas and skills who could benefit from this fund.

“If you do apply for a small business loan, you will get help and assistance with your application, but it’s important that you are prepared and organised.  Getting your loan approved depends on how well you present yourself, your business and your financial needs.”

John O’Reilly, emda’s Business Support Director, said: “Securing finance to support your business through its incubation stage is often the biggest challenge for entrepreneurs like Leann and Kerry. This makes initiatives such as EnterpriseLoans East Midlands crucial.

“I would encourage people with dedication and strong propositions to contact their Business Link advisor and find out about the business support services available to them.”

Existing entrepreneurs or individuals who are thinking of starting up in business should contact Business Link on 0845 058 6644 or visit www.businesslink.gov.uk

For more details about EnterpriseLoans East Midlands, telephone 0845 602 7355.

ENDS

Issued on behalf of emda by lava. For further information please contact:

Matt, Louise or Becky at lava on 01522 842 800 or matt@lavapr.co.uk / louise@lavapr.co.uk/ becky@lavapr.co.uk

Notes to Editors:

About emda

East Midlands Development Agency (emda) is one of nine Regional Development Agencies in England, set up in 1999 to bring a regional focus to economic development.

Ten years on, independent evaluation shows emda has:

• Had a significant impact on the region’s economy
• Generated economic benefits that substantially outweigh its overall costs
• Put back over £9 of economic output (or GVA) into the regional economy for every £1 it spends
• Produced more than £1 billion in economic benefits per year
• A wider impact on people, places and businesses in the East Midlands that cannot be captured by figures alone.

emda is committed to supporting the region through the current downturn and has put in place a range of measures to provide real help during these challenging times.

Over the long term, emda’s aim is to deliver the 2006 Regional Economic Strategy (RES) by working in partnership with public, private and voluntary organisations.  The RES highlights the themes of productivity, sustainability and equality and sets out key priorities until 2020 to ensure the vision for ‘a flourishing region’ can be achieved.

For more details visit www.emda.org.uk

About First Enterprise Business Agency (FEBA)

• First Enterprise Business Agency (FEBA) was established in 1989 to meet the challenges faced by the ethic minority community by bridging the gap of accessibility of support and provide a confidential and culturally sensitive business support service.

• FEBA is a non-profit-making organisation, which registered as a company limited by guarantee in May 1993 after it gained independence from the Nottingham City Council.

• First Enterprise Business Agency’s (FEBA’s) role is to help people from disadvantaged communities to create and sustain economic advantage through self-employment by providing pre and post start-up support in many forms.

• FEBA is an Enterprise Agency in the East Midlands region with a specialist remit to serve the ethnic minority community, and the disadvantaged groups.

• First Enterprise is a member of the following organisations:

• BERR Approved Enterprise Agency
• Full member of the National Federation of Enterprise Agencies (NFEA)
• Member of Community Development Finance Association (CDFA)
• Licensed by the Office of Fair Trading under the Consumer Credit Act 1974, license number 381033
• Nottinghamshire Chamber of Commerce membership number 369975
• Meets the requirements of the National Standard for Effective Investment in People
• Registered for BS EN ISO 9001:2000 certificate number 19088
• Accredited by the Customer First Framework certificate number 1490

Committed to Business in the Community’s Community Mark