Case studies

Lowestoft Enterprise Park

"We’ve grown with the right space and support"

Catherine and Ian Mills have come a long way since they started trading ornamental baskets from their own home in 2004. Candi Gifts now supplies national companies such as ASDA, Cadburys, the Co-op, Morrisons and Selfridges — as well as many small companies, sole traders, charities and voluntary groups.

One of the reasons for their success is the help they received from NWES, an enterprise support service that provides advice, loans and affordable business units. NWES helped Catherine and Ian move into their first premises in January 2006 and then into a larger unit on the same site. They soon outgrew that too, and in October 2007 moved again to the newly opened Lowestoft Enterprise Park.

The Enteprise Park was built with the backing of EEDA and provides 12 incubator units in 15,000 sq ft of light industrial space for local businesses. In an economically disadvantaged part of the region, the units provide affordable space with on-site support that enables fledgling businesses to grow and stay in the local area.

John Balch, property director for NWES, believes that opportunity and support for new entrepreneurs need to go together. “We identified some time ago that there is a lack of very small but very high-spec units in Lowestoft for people to start out in” he says. “We provide considerable added value because a tenant gets help with finance, training and business contacts included in their rent."

Catherine Mills certainly agrees. “I think we would have struggled to get as far as we have without the units and the help of NWES.”

Click here to find out more about NWES