Member Article

Tyneside adventure holiday firm's growth 'on trek'

A Tyneside adventure holiday company is gearing up for a new global push following further funding. Jim Louth, who owns North Shields-based Undiscovered Destinations, has received £40,000 from Evolve Finance to fund improvements to his website www.undiscovered-destinations.com and attendance at next year’s Daily Telegraph Adventure Travel Show.

The move follows £60,000 of funding provided by Evolve Finance last year to enable Undiscovered Destinations to expand its product range and invest in marketing activities. The company – set up in 2005 – organises individual and small group tours to some of the least visited countries in the world. It currently has 18 destinations on its books, including Angola, Gabon, Congo, Eritrea, Oman, Panama and the Ukraine.

Based on ethical principles, the firm pioneers visits to a variety of countries, some of which have been affected by war, with the aim of driving investment through tourism to help build local communities. Jim works with local people on the ground to give clients a safe and rewarding journey of discovery.

Jim said: “The initial backing of Evolve Finance enabled us to step up our marketing and spread the word about our services. Our business wanted to make use of the services of Evolve Finance once more because of the great encouragement and support we received.”

Joanne Pratt, investment executive at Evolve Finance, said: “Undiscovered Destinations has an excellent product and anyone coming into contact with the company will be impressed by Jim’s in-depth knowledge of the destinations and expeditions in his portfolio. Interest is growing daily, not least because of the increased focus on ethical businesses and this one in particular certainly deserves to thrive.”

For further details of NEL Fund Managers Ltd’s investment criteria, please call 0845 111 1850 or visit www.nel.co.uk.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .