Two Tyneside entrepreneurs are looking to grow a second successful education sector business with the help of investment.
Brian Mair and Diego Melo worked with NEL Fund Managers in 2019 to secure a 拢40,000 Small Loan Fund investment for Nudge Education, which helps disenfranchised young people get back into education.
They have now accessed a further 拢28,000 investment from the fund to assist with the expansion of Nudge Minds, a separate business which provides personalised therapeutic support for young people.
Read more : go here for more North East business news
The investment is being used to help bring in specialist staff, support the firm鈥檚 drive towards securing further industry accreditations, improving its website and enhancing its marketing activity.
Nudge Minds already works with around 40 海角视频 local authorities across the 海角视频, and is helping more than 400 clients with issues including social, emotional, nutritional, relationship and self-esteem difficulties.
It has access to a network of around 350 care professionals, to ensure each client can access the specific types of support they need, with services coordinated from its headquarters in Newcastle.
The Nudge Minds management team worked with AbacusBean Accountants on completing its latest investment.
Mr Mair says: 鈥淥ur experience was that many of the young people that we were supporting through Nudge Education required therapeutic interventions alongside the educational support we were providing, and it makes sense to look to meet both sets of needs at the same time in a coordinated way.
鈥淲e work closely with carefully-chosen care professionals, families and the young people themselves to create a holistic service that addresses each individual鈥檚 particular needs and helps to create the balance in their lives which is all too often missing.
鈥淲e鈥檙e able to provide support all year round, rather than just during school term times, and with many teachers deciding to become social workers and therapists, we have a growing cohort of professionals that understand all sides of the situations that our young people are facing.
鈥淭he pandemic has exacerbated what was already growing demand for our services across all areas of operation, and with understanding building of both the approach we take and the results we get, we鈥檙e confident that we will see our operations continuing to expand this year.
鈥淲e鈥檝e had a positive relationship with the NEL team over the last few years, and with the flexibility and business advice that we know they offer, it felt right to go back to them to look for this second investment.鈥
Mike Guellard, investment executive at NEL Fund Managers, added: 鈥淏rian and Diego are utilising their specialist sector knowledge to help hundreds of young people find ways to improve their personal situations and future prospects, and are building very successful businesses along the way.鈥
The 拢9m North East Small Loan Fund forms part of the 拢120m North East Fund and is aimed at smaller SMEs, offering loans of between 拢10,000 and 拢50,000 to businesses in Tyne & Wear, Durham and Northumberland.
