A Lancashire business is set to bring one of the most ancient cooking methods into modern homes, thanks to a £25k Start Up Loan from alternative loan provider Business Finance Solutions www.businessfinancesolutions.org.uk the North West delivery partner of the government’s national £310m Start Up Loans programme and a lending partner of the Greater Manchester Combined Authority.
The brainchild of entrepreneur and inventor Nick Jones, tandoor-i www.tandoor-i.com is the first company in the world to design, manufacture and install professional standard tandoor ovens in home kitchens, bringing the 3000 year-old Asian cooking method into domestic kitchens for the first time.
Nick researched the ancient technology of the tandoor before building his Tandoor-i oven and now imports the clay ovens from India, marrying them with high end British materials for assembly in Lancashire. The Tandoor-i ovens can then be fitted into modern kitchen units or an island quickly and easily, sitting underneath a standard worktop.
Nick will be using his £25k loan to purchase stock and to invest in sales and marketing and will sell the Tandoor-i ovens via a network of kitchen showrooms and property developers from his Ormskirk base.
Roger Seddon, Head of Lending from Business Finance Solutions said: “Nick is tapping into the growing demand for restaurant quality products for the domestic market and we were delighted to support his exciting new venture with a Start Up Loan that will enable him to get the business moving very quickly. Kitchens today are the heart of the home as never before, and with the popularity of cooking programmes and world cuisine we are all becoming far more adventurous about what we want to cook and eat at home.”
Nick, who formerly worked as a teacher and in the pharmaceutical industry, said: “Indian food has never been more popular in the UK and our advisors at BFS immediately saw the potential in making a professional standard product available to home cooks and were able to help us with the funding and support we needed to develop our business.
“I’ve always had a passion for cooking authentic foods from around the world – I have a wok for Chinese food, a pasta maker for pasta but I couldn’t find a tandoor for Indian food, so I made one! The most popular dish served in restaurants at the weekend is Chicken Tikka Masala so it’s obvious that people want to experiment more and more with Indian food. Tandoor-i gives them a chance to do just that.”
BFS will see £15 million allocated to new start-ups across the North West over a two year period, creating around 3000 new businesses and over 5000 new jobs in the region. BFS is the finance arm of the Manchester Growth Company and supported by the GM Combined Authority and Greater Manchester Local Enterprise Partnership. BFS is a key alternative source of funding for small businesses in Greater Manchester and has grown a comprehensive range of finance products from £500 through to £500k, with support on raising early stage equity through the Co Angel Investment Service of up to £2m. To date BFS manages over £90m of publically backed small business investments across the UK. Find out more about BFS finance at www.business-finance-solutions.org.uk or by calling 0161 245 4737.
