Dorset-based innovation and growth funding experts, SG Financial, have provided grant writing and bid management advice to D.Stewart & Son to enable the business to secure two grants worth a combined £573,000.
Stewarts Garden Centres, the family firm whose history dates back eight generations to 1742, operates two garden centres and a nursery in Dorset and a further garden centre in Hampshire.
Dorset Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) has awarded a £297,000 grant to Stewarts Garden Centres towards a new highly productive £1.5 million agri-tech glasshouse at its Broomhill site, near Wimborne. The new 9,000 square metre glasshouse will revolutionise the business and enable it to compete more effectively against importers. The glasshouse will feature automated machinery for handling plants and computer-controlled heating and shading zones.
Stewarts will also join forces with Kingston Maurward College to offer exciting work placements for students to gain experience in agri-tech. There are also plans to run education tours and welcome school trips as well as introducing a volunteer scheme for horticultural enthusiasts.
SG Financial also advised Stewarts to secure a further grant of £276,000 from Dorset Council’s Low Carbon Dorset fund towards the installation of low carbon technologies at its Broomhill and Christchurch garden centres. These technologies include a ground source heat pump, solar panels and LED lighting.
SG Financial’s Managing Director Shaun Gomm said, “It has been a pleasure to assist Martin Stewart and his team to secure both grants, which will allow the innovative Glasshouse project to be developed and decrease the Company’s carbon emissions. The investment will help to increase Dorset’s productivity and contribute towards lowering the county’s carbon emissions.”
Commenting on his experience of working with SG Financial, Martin Stewart, Managing Director of Stewarts said, “We are honoured to have been awarded these grants, which will realise a long-held vision to construct a state-of-the-art, fully automated growing facility and move our business towards being carbon neutral. We would like to thank Shaun for identifying and securing this enabling funding and would highly recommend SG Financial to companies looking to secure innovation and growth funding.”
SG Financial was established by Shaun Gomm in 2018 and works with innovative and growing SME businesses throughout the UK. SG Financial assists companies to secure grants, loans and equity and also provides Project Management and Consultant Finance Director services.
For more information please visit www.sg-financial.com