A business support service which is preparing to celebrate its tenth anniversary next year has visited a family-run Nuneaton golf club that is enjoying its 30th birthday.
Oakridge Golf Club in Arley Lane was established by Syd Fryer in 1993 when he transformed a farm into an 18-hole course over 100 acres.
The business is now run by his daughter and granddaughter, Shane and Jodie Lovric, and also hosts weddings and events.
Oakridge Golf Club has been in contact with the Coventry and Warwickshire Growth Hub since 2017 and after being hit hard by the pandemic, Account Manager Linda Savitri has helped the business to apply for a £10,000 grant from The Warwickshire Business Support Green Recovery Grant Scheme which is funded by Coventry City Council.
Shane said they had also invested £18,870 after receiving the grant to buy solar panel batteries and LED lighting for the golf club; which included the function rooms, changing rooms, toilets and green keeping sheds.
She said: “We had solar panels installed because our energy costs were huge but we were unable to afford the inverter with the capability to store energy via batteries. The green grant helped us to purchase an inverter and batteries which enabled us to store our energy. We noticed a difference immediately because we started saving £700 a month on our electricity bills.
“We have also changed all of our lighting throughout the golf club from halogen to LED and some are fitted with a sensor so they are not constantly on which is also helping to reduce our energy bills. When the lighting arrived, they took over our reception area!
“Receiving the grant meant we were able to change all the lighting in one go rather than making the switch in stages.
“We are working really hard to encourage members from a wide age demographic to join and we have memberships for students, under-30s, those in the armed forces, juniors and people who work from home to try and cater for a wide range of lifestyles.
“The Growth Hub has been a massive help because we would still be struggling to pay our fuel bills without their support.
“Their support over the years has been endless and it is great that they understand what it is like to run a business because sometimes people can talk the theory but they don’t understand the pressures of paying staff and suppliers each month.”
Since it was established in 2014, the support of Coventry and Warwickshire Growth Hub has led to the creation of around 10,500 jobs, added £400 million in gross value to the local economy, and leveraged about £300 million in private sector investment for businesses in Coventry and Warwickshire.
Craig Humphrey, CEO at CW Growth Hub, said Oakridge Golf Club is the type of hospitality and tourism business that was badly affected by Covid-19 but had bounced back in determined fashion.
He said: “Many business support programmes are time limited but the Growth Hub is different since our account managers are not bound by time limits which means we can assist businesses anytime for as long as they need us.
“We have been in regular contact with Shane and Jodie since 2017 to help with growth strategies, business planning and mentoring support and in recent months, we have focused on energy consumption.
“Our account managers have either run their own businesses or worked in industry so they know exactly what it’s like to run a business and their contact with business owners is not time limited so that we deliver the outcomes that are right for a company.”
Linda Savitri, Account Manager at CW Growth Hub, added: “The mentoring programme has helped Shane and Jodie to create a clear strategy for growth and plan for future investment which is really important.
“When businesses are involved in the day-to-day running of their operation, they often don’t have the time to research grants and that is one of the reasons the Growth Hub is a valuable resource to keep them updated with the funding opportunities that are available.”
Caption: From the left, Linda Savitri and Craig Humphrey from the Coventry and Warwickshire Growth Hub with Shane and Jodie Lovric from Oakridge Golf Club