Grants from the council have allowed local butcher Laura Black to develop her business and helped her win the first Haggis World Championship!
Laura, owner of Coopers of Bellshill, applied for funding from the Business Recovery and Growth Fund to make improvements to new premises in Motherwell.
This included buying a new mincer which helped Laura produce the world champion haggis, as well as sausages that took top spot in the West of Scotland Pork Links Championship 2023.
The funding also enabled Laura to access expert consultancy advice on creating a brand for the family business and developing a marketing and sales strategy.
“Having taken on a new business premises in January, I have been lucky to receive support from the council by way of a grant to enable me to modernise and purchase vital equipment to not only sustain but grow the business and given the recent wins, this is much needed,” Laura said.
“I have also been able to recruit a further 2 staff to date with plans to recruit more over the coming months. Most of the team live within the North Lanarkshire area so the grant funding is also helping support us to recruit local people and enable us to use more local businesses as suppliers and enable us to supply not only local people but local businesses.
“The consultancy aspect has also been invaluable as it will enable us to develop as a brand and reach more customers regionally and national which has already increased sales by over 50%. This grant will really make a difference in taking our business to the next level.”
Laura’s 40-year-old family haggis recipe beat nearly 70 other Scottish hopefuls to be named Haggis World Champion at the Scottish Craft Butchers Trade Fair.
“Congratulations to Laura and her team at Coopers of Bellshill on their achievements,” said Pamela Humphries, Chief Officer of Place at North Lanarkshire Council.
“The council has a range of support available to local businesses to help them develop and grow, including grant funding, personalised advice from Business Gateway Lanarkshire, access to training, and help with recruitment.”
The Business Recovery and Growth Fund provided grants to support businesses to recover, adapt and diversify their operations and create employment opportunities and new jobs.
The Fund was part-funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) through an allocation from a £2,400,296.59 grant awarded to North and South Lanarkshire Councils from Scotland's European Structural Funds 2014-2020 Programme.
For information on support available to local businesses, email BusinessSupport@northlan.gov.uk or visit www.northlanarkshire.gov.uk/business