Kevin Hollinrake, MP for Thirsk and Malton, recently visited Wold Top Brewery, a local NPIF-backed business based in Driffield. Kevin was given a tour of the brewery alongside British Business Bank, Managing Director, Ken Cooper, showcasing the positive impact NPIF funding has on small businesses in Yorkshire, including those such as Wold Top Brewery.
Launched in 2003, Wold Top Brewery was founded by Tom and Gill Mellor as they looked to find new ways to sustain and diversify their family farm. Producing a vast range of beers, IPAs, bitters, lagers and ales, the brewery is now run by Tom and Gill’s daughter, Kate, and her husband, Alex Balchin.
Almost 190 SMEs in Kevin’s constituency have benefitted from investment by BBB funding schemes including NPIF and the Start-up Loans programme. A further 2,900 utilised its various COVID-19 support schemes.
Across North Yorkshire, NPIF has delivered 93 investments to 62 companies to the value of £21.9m in direct investment which has attracted a further £39.8m in private sector investment.
Wold Top Brewery secured a £200,000 loan from NPIF – Mercia Debt Finance in December 2019 and used the funding to hire two new members of staff, one of which was a full-time sales manager. The funding also helped the brewery to develop two new distribution channels and launch a number of new beers. Over the years, Wold Top brewery has achieved multiple awards including silver at the Free From Food Award in 2022, as well as the Green Initiative of the Year award at the Scarborough Business Excellence Awards in 2021.
Kevin said: “Local businesses are vital to regional economies, so it was good to meet with Alex today and see the impressive success Wold Top has experienced over the last 20 years. Making sure there are opportunities for businesses to secure funding is particularly important in the current economic climate and something I’m keen to see happen. I’m proud that Wold Top’s success is putting North Yorkshire on the map as the UK’s go-to spot for craft beer”
Ken Cooper, Managing Director at British Business Bank, said: “It was great to visit the team at Wold Top Brewery along with Kevin. Seeing a business thrive having had investment from NPIF demonstrates the benefit that we can bring to a region by putting in place the right forms of finance. The success of this investment is a great example for other Yorkshire entrepreneurs who might be considering taking on finance to grow their businesses.”
The Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund project is supported financially by the European Union using funding from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) as part of the European Structural and Investment Funds Growth Programme 2014-2020 and the European Investment Bank.
