Young entrepreneur secures funding for accommodation on North Coast 500 as part of £6m boost to Scots business-founders

Gen Z businesswoman hails support from initiative helping entrepreneurs aged 18 to 24.

Isobel Wright has created Ardmore Shepherd’s Hut on the North Coast 500 after securing funding. Picture: contributed.

A young entrepreneur is embarking on her own hospitality venture on the North Coast 500 after securing a loan to buy and do up a rustic shepherd’s hut. Isobel Wright received the five-figure boost as part of the British Business Bank’s Start Up Loans programme that since 2012 has delivered more than £6 million of finance to business-owners aged 18-24 in Scotland.

The 23-year-old secured £20,000 via the Start Up Loans programme and its partner Transmit Startups to acquire the unit located in the fishing village of Lochinver on the North-west coast in March 2023, as well as install electricity and plumbing, and restore the garden with fruit trees and a vegetable patch. The self-catering accommodation, known as Ardmore Shepherd’s Hut, sleeps two, and will be open to holidaymakers in the spring.

Wright said: “The support I received through the Start Up Loans programme and from their partner Transmit Startups was pivotal, and I would encourage other young entrepreneurs to take advantage of the various funding and mentoring opportunities that are available to kick-start their business.”

In terms of how the £6m has been distributed since 2012 to the top ten Scottish local authorities, Edinburgh has received 124 loans amounting to just under £900,000; Glasgow 107 adding up to £728,888; Fife 57 totalling £422,440; and the Highlands 35 at a collective £315,105. East Ayrshire secured 28 with a total of £149,640; Dundee 27 at a collective £198,448; and Dumfries and Galloway 25 making £125,500 altogether. The Borders netted 23 loans with a total of £196,360; East Lothian 22 at £148,650; and Aberdeenshire 18 at £187,739.

The funding milestone comes as the Start Up Loans programme launches an ad campaign, running in cities including Dundee, Aberdeen, Glasgow and Edinburgh, aimed at students considering entrepreneurship as a career option.

Susan Nightingale of the British Business Bank, which in October officially debuted its £150m Investment Fund for Scotland, said: “Our £6m funding milestone in Scotland is a significant landmark, and testament to the hard work of Start Up Loans and its business support partners, in giving anyone with a good business idea, like Ardmore Shepherd’s Hut, no matter their age, the chance to access the funding needed to bring it to life.”