Newcastle entrepreneur invests over £100k into new laser clinic

A North East entrepreneur has invested over £100k to launch a laser clinic in Heaton, with help from North Tyneside Business Factory and the New Enterprise Allowance Scheme (NEA).

Ray Wilkey worked for over 15 years in the oil and gas industry selling subsea systems before redundancy spurred him to set up his own business and launch the first Clearskin clinic in Heaton.

The idea first came to Ray during research for tattoo removal methods and it became clear that many of the lasers being used to provide tattoo removal services in and around Newcastle were not effective enough to offer a quality service to customers.

After redundancy made him look to change career, Ray researched new advancements in laser technology and identified that by undertaking specialist training and investment, there was an opportunity to offer medical-grade laser treatments to customers.

Clearskin founder, Ray Wilkey, commented: “Probably [unknown] to many people is that laser skin treatments can be carried out using lasers of any particular age or quality.

“It’s why so many customers don’t see the results they anticipated when first undergoing treatments and I spotted an obvious gap in the market to create a clinic that offered treatments with real results by investing in high quality equipment.

“I have invested over £100k into Clearskin with class four medical grade lasers supplied by Lynton Lasers and operated by a skilled team who have undergone advanced training in their field.

“As a qualified engineer myself, I knew the equipment we invested in had to offer the very best for our customers and I’m pleased to say we are now one of only a select number of clinics in the North East.”

The clinic offers an array of treatments including laser hair removal, pigmentation correction and the removal of thread veins.

Ray invested his own funds into the new venture along with a business loan via the New Enterprise Allowance Scheme (NEA).

North Tyneside Business Factory advisor, Nicky Gray offered Ray a one-to-one mentoring service to advise on all aspects of setting up the new venture.

Ray continued: “Nicky was incredibly helpful in giving me the support I needed in the early pre-start period with business mentoring on all aspects including planning and financials.

“Laser treatments offer real results to customers and are a big business opportunity we intend to capitalise on with future growth planned once Clearskin is established in Heaton.”

Ray worked with the North Tyneside Business Factory, which is funded by the ERDF and delivered in North Tyneside by TEDCO Business Support.

The business factory is dedicated to offering assistance to new and growing businesses across all areas of private and social enterprise.