Inverness on AA
1
31 www.inverness-courier.co.uk FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 28, 2014 A RECENTLY launched social enterprise is giving north business people new opportu- nities to contribute to the economic growth of the region. Highlands and Islands Business Finance (www.hibf.co.uk) was established to assist businesses that need additional funding to help create or retain employment. e Inverness-based organisation aims to help 120 businesses in the Highlands and Islands and Moray to access finance during its two-year pilot period. HIBF lends be- tween £3,000 and £50,000 to firms seeking support to reach their potential. Glasgow-based DSL Business Finance is providing £300,000 initial loan capital for the organisation, which launched in February and started its pilot period six months later. e capital is expected to double in its second year. Any profit HIBF makes is reinvested into its loan funding. It has secured fund- ing from Highlands and Islands Enterprise, the Scottish Government and the Highland Council. Allan Sillars, development manag- er and director at HIBF, hopes the organi- sation will be completely self-sustainable within five years – and believes the north business community can help. HIBF’s five-year plan includes setting up a social impact bond before the end of 2015 aimed at generating a £200,000 fund, which could be lent to businesses. Up to 40 peo- ple will be needed to invest a minimum of £5,000 each into a three-year bond. Mr Sillars is keen to hear from anyone who may be interested in supporting it. “If we are successful in what we do then there will be a return paid to those involved in the bond,” he said. “e purpose of HIBF is to create employment and help grow the north economy, which in turn is good for all businesses. ere might be people who found it difficult when they started their business and can relate to finance issues, so might be keen to do something to support others facing similar challenges.” Tougher lending criteria since the glo- bal financial crisis started to bite in 2008 have made access to finance increasingly difficult for businesses keen to develop, with some seeking support from non-tradi- tional sources. Mr Sillars explained: “A lot of the main- stream lenders aren’t able to support busi- nesses the way they used to and that is sti- fling their ability to be sustainable and to grow, as well as create employment in the north. We will help established businesses which are looking to grow but are not able to get finance from mainstream lenders for whatever reason, as well as start-ups and businesses that haven’t got a long trading record.” Enquiries have been received from the Northern Isles, Moray, the Western Isles and Lochaber as well as places in between. Interest has grown since the social en- terprise staged information events in Inverness and Elgin in September, follow- ing the appointment of Alison Sturrock as HIBF’s portfolio manager. Mr Sillars said: “It is really taking off. We’re delighted with the number of enquir- ies we have had so far. “For us to be successful we have to lend money to businesses sensibly. If we can lend money to businesses in a responsible manner and help them grow and expand or retain employment then I think we’ll get the support we need to carry on long term.” Each time a loan is sought, a credit panel consisting of one HIBF representative and three people who have experience in bank- ing, accountancy and business ownership in the same area as the applicant will de- cide whether to recommend the loan to DSL Business Finance, with which HIBF has a partnership agreement. Mr Sillars explained: “What differenti- ates us from anything else out there in the alternative finance marketplace is that we have the experience of people on the credit panel who know the local business climate for each case that we assess. “ey also speak face-to-face to the peo- ple involved in the business that is seeking finance – and can use their knowledge of ei- ther running a business in that area or sup- porting businesses in that area in order to make an accurate decision on whether the business coming to us should be supported or not.” Mr Sillars said a loan could help a busi- ness “fill a gap” , even if it already had loans from a bank or another body. He added: “We want this to be like banks used to be, where you would sit down with a prospective client, they would present a business case to you and you would look them in the eye, shake their hand and trust them to go out and give it their best shot.” Fellow director Harry Wilson said there was a general feeling that start-up busi- nesses perhaps don’t get the best hearings from banks. He said: “Our criteria level is set quite low so we feel that we can consider anything that is put in front of us. But there has to be a credible business plan and we have to buy into it.” e prospect of creating jobs through supporting businesses is among the rea- sons fellow director James Dunbar is ex- cited to be involved. “Employment is one of the biggest life- changers anyone can experience,” he said. “Part of what HIBF wants to do is play its part in supporting a stronger north economy. “We are looking to offer an alternative finance route so that people can get the money they need to grow their business and employ more people. at leads to there being more money and more jobs in the community.” HIBF intends to work with other organi- sations – including Business Gateway and Highland Opportunity, in addition to busi- ness mentoring services, banks, private commercial financial advisers and account- ants – and will accept referrals and applica- tions from firms that contact it directly. Anyone interested in finding out more about the planned social impact bond should contact Allan Sillars by email at [email protected]; anyone interested in obtaining more information about loans should contact Alison Sturrock by email at: [email protected] Helping hand for firms to grow and expand Directors of Highlands and Islands Business Finance – (from leſt) Allan Sillars, James Dunbar and Harry Wilson. HIBF was established this year to assist businesses that need additional funding to help create or retain employment. Picture: Andrew Smith Travel Tradition with a relaxed touch C OMFORTABLE leather arm chairs in the lounge of the Atholl Arms provide the perfect location for a spot of people watching. Sitting with a coffee and a newspaper, you can look on as people come and go at the imposing hotel in the centre of Dunkeld. ey are a mixed bunch; couples arriving for a short stay, locals calling in for a meal and a party of Japanese tourists who insist their breakfast (“not cold, cooked!”) is served at 7.30am not 7.45am, the time it is scheduled to begin for everyone else. e receptionist remains commendably cool and polite, promising that arrangements will be made. She was obviously a little flustered because a short time later she brings me a latte, even though my order had already been delivered. “Oh I’m sorry,” she apologises. “Would you like two?” e Atholl is that kind of place, relaxed and easy going. Built in 1833 and situated by the bridge over the River Tay on the town’s High Street, it has undergone sympathetic improvements in recent years. e entrance has been remodelled to create a lounge which is a great place to relax at any time of day, even hosting impromptu evening jams by local musicians who just turn up and play. “I’ve been in Scotland a month and this is the most authentic experience I have had,” one American guest told me over a whisky as a fiddle player and guitarist played in the background. e bedrooms have also been updated and are airy and comfortable but without, thankfully, falling in with the modern trend to follow a boutique style. ere is not a free-standing bath in sight. is still feels like a traditional hotel, down to the occasionally noisy plumbing in our room, a place at ease with itself. Not that it cannot make you feel special. e RiverView restaurant was voted the best informal dining experience in Central Scotland in the 2014 Scottish Hotel Awards and our meals were of high quality, using local produce and creating a clever blend of flavours. Even here though, the convivial atmosphere continues and we had to be gently shooed out to the lounge by a waitress after we fell into a lengthy conversation with diners on a neighbouring table who, it turned out, made the lengthy journey from Birmingham every year to stay at the Atholl. If you venture out of the front door, Dunkeld offers a network of walks, many taking in its largely ruined cathedral, thought to date back to the 9th century, and illuminating the town’s often bloody history. In fact few houses date back further than 1689 when almost every building was destroyed during the Battle of Dunkeld between covenanters and the Jacobites. After the battle a new town was laid out, much of which is now in the ownership of the National Trust for Scotland, including the wonderful Spill the Beans cafe on the walk up to the cathedral where home- made cakes and sandwiches and a good selection of teas and coffees are served on vintage crockery. Also within walking distance is the Loch of the Lowes nature reserve, run by the Scottish Wildlife Trust and home to ospreys during the summer and a variety of wildfowl, including great crested grebes, at other times of the year. e hides offer good viewing points and there is a small but interesting visitor centre with a live TV feed from the osprey nest. Hot drinks are available but no food, so take your own if you are planning a lengthy visit. Slightly further afield are the shops and attractions of Pitlochry and Perth but, for us, the hotel and its immediate surrounds were more than enough for a relaxing, car-free weekend. In pursuit of a relaxing weekend, Robert Taylor and his wife turned off the A9 and headed to the Atholl Arms Hotel in Dunkeld. A bedroom at the Atholl Arms with views over the River Tay. e Atholl Arms in Dunkeld. Special Offers Winter offers at the Atholl Arms Hotel. n Two night stay arriving Sunday, Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday, £79 per person including dinner on first night (dinner is a voucher for £20 per person). n ree night stay arriving Sunday, Monday or Tuesday, £99 per person including dinner on first night (dinner is a voucher for £20 per person). Deals are valid between November and February, excluding 23rd December to 23rd January. Contact Telephone: 01350 727 219. Email: [email protected] Online: www.athollarmshotel.com It’s Christmas It’s Christmas CHRISTMAS 2014 STILL STUCK FOR GIFT IDEAS? Look out for our FREE guide in this newspaper Christmas Gift Guide It’s Christmas
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The Atholl Arms Hotel in the Inverness Courier
Transcript of Inverness on AA
31www.inverness-courier.co.ukFriday, November 28, 2014
A RECENTLY launched social enterprise is giving north business people new opportu-nities to contribute to the economic growth of the region.
Highlands and Islands Business Finance (www.hibf.co.uk) was established to assist businesses that need additional funding to help create or retain employment.
The Inverness-based organisation aims to help 120 businesses in the Highlands and Islands and Moray to access finance during its two-year pilot period. HIBF lends be-tween £3,000 and £50,000 to firms seeking support to reach their potential.
Glasgow-based DSL Business Finance is providing £300,000 initial loan capital for the organisation, which launched in February and started its pilot period six months later. The capital is expected to double in its second year.
Any profit HIBF makes is reinvested into its loan funding. It has secured fund-ing from Highlands and Islands Enterprise, the Scottish Government and the Highland Council. Allan Sillars, development manag-er and director at HIBF, hopes the organi-sation will be completely self-sustainable within five years – and believes the north business community can help.
HIBF’s five-year plan includes setting up a social impact bond before the end of 2015 aimed at generating a £200,000 fund, which could be lent to businesses. Up to 40 peo-ple will be needed to invest a minimum of £5,000 each into a three-year bond.
Mr Sillars is keen to hear from anyone who may be interested in supporting it. “If we are successful in what we do then there will be a return paid to those involved in the bond,” he said. “The purpose of HIBF is to create employment and help grow the north economy, which in turn is good for all businesses. There might be people who found it difficult when they started their business and can relate to finance issues, so might be keen to do something to support others facing similar challenges.”
Tougher lending criteria since the glo-bal financial crisis started to bite in 2008 have made access to finance increasingly
difficult for businesses keen to develop, with some seeking support from non-tradi-tional sources.
Mr Sillars explained: “A lot of the main-stream lenders aren’t able to support busi-nesses the way they used to and that is sti-fling their ability to be sustainable and to grow, as well as create employment in the north. We will help established businesses which are looking to grow but are not able to get finance from mainstream lenders for whatever reason, as well as start-ups and businesses that haven’t got a long trading record.”
Enquiries have been received from the Northern Isles, Moray, the Western Isles and Lochaber as well as places in between.
Interest has grown since the social en-terprise staged information events in Inverness and Elgin in September, follow-ing the appointment of Alison Sturrock as HIBF’s portfolio manager.
Mr Sillars said: “It is really taking off. We’re delighted with the number of enquir-ies we have had so far.
“For us to be successful we have to lend money to businesses sensibly. If we can lend money to businesses in a responsible manner and help them grow and expand or retain employment then I think we’ll get the support we need to carry on long term.”
Each time a loan is sought, a credit panel consisting of one HIBF representative and three people who have experience in bank-ing, accountancy and business ownership in the same area as the applicant will de-cide whether to recommend the loan to DSL Business Finance, with which HIBF has a partnership agreement.
Mr Sillars explained: “What differenti-ates us from anything else out there in the alternative finance marketplace is that we have the experience of people on the credit panel who know the local business climate for each case that we assess.
“They also speak face-to-face to the peo-ple involved in the business that is seeking finance – and can use their knowledge of ei-ther running a business in that area or sup-porting businesses in that area in order to
make an accurate decision on whether the business coming to us should be supported or not.”
Mr Sillars said a loan could help a busi-ness “fill a gap”, even if it already had loans from a bank or another body.
He added: “We want this to be like banks used to be, where you would sit down with a prospective client, they would present a business case to you and you would look them in the eye, shake their hand and trust them to go out and give it their best shot.”
Fellow director Harry Wilson said there was a general feeling that start-up busi-nesses perhaps don’t get the best hearings from banks.
He said: “Our criteria level is set quite low so we feel that we can consider anything that is put in front of us. But there has to be a credible business plan and we have to buy into it.”
The prospect of creating jobs through supporting businesses is among the rea-sons fellow director James Dunbar is ex-cited to be involved.
“Employment is one of the biggest life-changers anyone can experience,” he said. “Part of what HIBF wants to do is play its part in supporting a stronger north economy.
“We are looking to offer an alternative finance route so that people can get the money they need to grow their business and employ more people. That leads to there being more money and more jobs in the community.”
HIBF intends to work with other organi-sations – including Business Gateway and Highland Opportunity, in addition to busi-ness mentoring services, banks, private commercial financial advisers and account-ants – and will accept referrals and applica-tions from firms that contact it directly.
Anyone interested in finding out more about the planned social impact bond should contact Allan Sillars by email at [email protected]; anyone interested in obtaining more information about loans should contact Alison Sturrock by email at: [email protected]
Helping hand for firms to grow and expand Directors of Highlands and Islands Business Finance – (from left) Allan Sillars, James Dunbar
and Harry Wilson. HIBF was established this year to assist businesses that need additional funding to help create or retain employment. Picture: Andrew Smith
Travel
Tradition with a relaxed touch
COMFORTABLE leather arm chairs in the lounge of the Atholl Arms provide the perfect location for a spot of people watching.
Sitting with a coffee and a newspaper, you can look on as people come and go at the imposing hotel in the centre of Dunkeld. They are a mixed bunch; couples arriving for a short stay, locals calling in for a meal and a party of Japanese tourists who insist their breakfast (“not cold, cooked!”) is served at 7.30am not 7.45am, the time it is scheduled to begin for everyone else.
The receptionist remains commendably cool and polite, promising that arrangements will be made.
She was obviously a little flustered because a short time later she brings me a latte, even though my order had already been delivered. “Oh I’m sorry,” she apologises. “Would you like two?”
The Atholl is that kind of place, relaxed and easy going. Built in 1833 and situated by the bridge over the River Tay on the town’s High Street, it has undergone sympathetic improvements in recent years. The entrance has been remodelled to create a lounge which is a great place to relax at any time of day, even hosting impromptu evening jams by local musicians who just turn up and play.
“I’ve been in Scotland a month and this is the most authentic experience I have
had,” one American guest told me over a whisky as a fiddle player and guitarist played in the background.
The bedrooms have also been updated and are airy and comfortable but without, thankfully, falling in with the modern trend to follow a boutique style. There is not a free-standing bath in sight. This still feels like a traditional hotel, down to the occasionally noisy plumbing in our room, a place at ease with itself.
Not that it cannot make you feel special. The RiverView restaurant was voted the best informal dining experience in Central Scotland in the 2014 Scottish Hotel Awards and our meals were of high quality, using local produce and creating a clever blend of flavours.
Even here though, the convivial atmosphere continues and we had to be gently shooed out to the lounge by a waitress after we fell into a lengthy conversation with diners on a neighbouring table who, it turned out, made the lengthy journey from Birmingham every year to stay at the Atholl.
If you venture out of the front door, Dunkeld offers a network of walks, many taking in its largely ruined cathedral,
thought to date back to the 9th century, and illuminating the town’s often bloody history. In fact few houses date back further than 1689 when almost every building was destroyed during the Battle of Dunkeld between covenanters and the Jacobites.
After the battle a new town was laid out, much of which is now in the ownership of the National Trust for Scotland, including the wonderful Spill the Beans cafe on the walk up to the cathedral where home-made cakes and sandwiches and a good selection of teas and coffees are served on vintage crockery.
Also within walking distance is the Loch of the Lowes nature reserve, run by the Scottish Wildlife Trust and home to ospreys during the summer and a variety of wildfowl, including great crested grebes, at other times of the year. The hides offer good viewing points and there is a small but interesting visitor centre with a live TV feed from the osprey nest. Hot drinks are available but no food, so take your own if you are planning a lengthy visit.
Slightly further afield are the shops and attractions of Pitlochry and Perth but, for us, the hotel and its immediate surrounds were more than enough for a relaxing, car-free weekend.
In pursuit of a relaxing weekend, Robert Taylor and his wife turned off the A9 and headed to the Atholl Arms Hotel in Dunkeld.
A bedroom at the Atholl Arms with views over the River Tay.
The Atholl Arms in Dunkeld.
Special OffersWinter offers at the Atholl Arms
Hotel.n Two night stay arriving Sunday,
Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday, £79 per person including dinner on first night (dinner is a voucher for £20 per person).
n Three night stay arriving Sunday, Monday or Tuesday, £99 per person including dinner on first night (dinner is a voucher for £20 per person).Deals are valid between November
and February, excluding 23rd December to 23rd January.
ContactTelephone: 01350 727 219.Email: [email protected] Online: www.athollarmshotel.com
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CHRISTMAS
2014
Still Stuck for gift ideaS?Look out for our free guide in this newspaper
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