The Island of Bute in Argyll is proving to be a real winner with new businesses flourishing and success for established organisations at the recent Thistle Tourism Awards.

Through it's business start-up programme, Argyll and the Islands Enterprise (AIE) can help new businesses by providing a regular income for the first six months of trading, usually the most difficult for fledgling businesses.

Island Workwear and Argyll Broadcast Connection are two such businesses who have benefited from the HIE-Starts programme and are thriving within eighteen months of starting up. 

Alison McAllister set up Island Workwear last summer and has already established a large clientele for her range of workwear and leisure wear.

With turnover far exceeding Alison's expectations it was not long before the business, which sells waterproof jackets, boots, boilersuits and so on, had to move to larger premises.
 
John Dick returned to his native Bute from Canada and established Argyll Broadcast Connection.  The business involves the manufacture and installation of prefabricated connections for large pieces of electronic equipment, such as audio studios.

Argyll Broadcast Connection - the only business of its kind in Argyll - has carried out work for the BBC and was responsible for the studio control room in the newly refurbished MacRobert Centre in Stirling.

Business start-up manager with AIE is Janice Brebber, she said: "A number of very diverse new businesses have started this year on Bute.  I hope examples like Argyll Broadcast Connection and Island Workwear will encourage others to think that they too could start their own business."

Both businesses are part of the commercial infrastructure that makes for a healthy business community with money being spent locally and acting as a multiplier in the local economy.

New business starts however, are not the only success story for Bute.  Two prominent tourist attractions were winners at the recent Thistle Tourism Awards with help from AIE.  The Mount Stuart Trust received £190,000 from AIE several years ago to develop visitor facilities at Mount Stuart House and Gardens.  At the Thistle Tourism Awards last month, it was named winner in the Visitor Attraction Customer Care category.

Likewise, the Bute Discovery Centre - which is located within the Winter Gardens at Rothesay - won the Area Tourism Initiative award.  The Bute Discovery Centre provides visitors to the island with information on activities, places of interest and accommodation by using video, interpretation and interactive areas.  This development was assisted by AIE with a grant worth over £300,000 to Argyll, the Isles, Loch Lomond, Stirling and the Trossachs Tourist Board.

Ken Abernethy, chief executive at AIE said: "We are committed to helping Bute develop a healthy, sustainable economy by helping to create new businesses and by improving the tourism product on the island."

For more information on the types of assistance available from AIE please call tel: 0845 779 4285