Member Article

North East pair make success of start-up

A pair of Gateshead entrepreneurs are marking a successful year in business, with thoughts of expansion on the horizon.

Dave Nesbit and Derek Barrass created Premier Paint and Wallpaper Ltd a year ago, and have since seen healthy growth, with over 1,700 customers.

With a 25 year background in the paints industry, Dave has used his knowledge to offer a huge variety of stock, with products for the factory floor through to the bedroom ceiling.

He said: “We’ve never looked back, the advice we got and a good back up network put us on a sound footing and now we’re seeing the rewards for our efforts.

“I wanted to do things the right way from the start so I got some sound business start up advice from Gateshead Council, who were excellent and also referred me to Business Link where I got loads of useful advice.

The advice Dave and Derek received allowed them to draw up a high quality business plan and enabled them to access £2,500 in matched grant funding through Gateshead Council’s Enterprise and Innovation Fund.

With this, they bought computer software to manage their finances, as well as handle customer accounts and credit checking.

The company are based on Team Valley Trading Estate, allowing them to support fellow North East businesses, something Dave feels strongly on.

“This year we’ve bought £35-45,000 of stock from local suppliers. That’s keeping people in jobs and supporting the local economy.

“These are difficult times but we can pull together and get through it.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Tom Keighley .