Jubilee for Prince's business vision

By Bill Wilson
Business reporter, BBC News

Prince Charles visits a trust-backed business in north London

A business programme set up by Prince Charles in the 1980s, to provide loans and support for young entrepreneurs rejected by traditional funding sources, is celebrating its 25th anniversary.

The Prince's Trust business programme was established against a backdrop of rising unemployment and is still helping those from disadvantaged backgrounds get a foothold in the business world.

The scheme is designed to help 18-to-30 year-olds who are suffering from long-term joblessness, ill-health or other social ills.

We don't just hand over money and say 'off you go' Rob Cope, Prince's Trust

Business loans are also made available for those who have a lack of education and qualifications, a previous drug dependency, or a criminal record.

"If you leave school with no qualifications, or no track record of a job, or if there is a break where you have been in prison, it is hard to get a job," says the trust's Rob Cope.

"With the financial, and other, help of the Prince's Trust then young people can create jobs for themselves."

Mentors provided

Those who meet the qualifying criteria for one of the trust's low-interest loans then have to face a business panel, which - if not of Dragon's Den intensity - wants to see a well thought out and researched idea.

"We don't just hand over money and say 'off you go'," says Mr Cope.

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"Someone sits down with them and helps them write a business plan which then goes to a business panel to see if the loan will be made."

It is here that the applicant may well be told to go away and work some more to fine-tune either their original concept or business plan.

"However, if you are given the money you are then provided with a mentor to help get the plan off the ground, and beyond," Mr Cope adds.

"They continue to help provide a network of support."

Since it made its first loan - to The Royale fish-and-chip shop in Trimdon Grange, County Durham, in 1983 - the programme has helped more than 70,000 disadvantaged young people to set up in business through low-interest loans and mentoring.

The sisters who opened that chip shop, Julie Owens and Anne Dunn, sold it not long afterwards, but said that after leaving school with no qualifications the experience had been a confidence boost.

Flowers and fashion

Many other of the businesses that have been supported in the 25 years since 1983 continue to flourish.

They cover a wide range from West Indian food to graphic design firms, from drinks vending machines to flowers, furniture and fashion.

The trust says that 58% of businesses it supports are still trading into their third year, which compares favourably to the national average.

The first loan was to sisters Julie Owens and Anne Dunn in 1983

It also says this figure has to be taken into the context of the fact that many of the young people they help may have struggled at school, have been in care, are long-term unemployed or have been in trouble with the law.

And it points out that 93% of trust-supported businesses are either still trading or in other work after 12 months.

One success story is graphic design firm Attik, which was recently sold to Japanese media giant Dentsu.

Attik was founded in Huddersfield in the mid-1980s by two unemployed former art students.

"None of the banks would lend us the money we needed to start up," says Attik co-founder James Sommerville.

"But someone mentioned the Prince's Trust to us, which was not as well known then as it is now, and they were able to give us the money to get started."

Business workshops

However, the cost of the loans, mentoring, advice, staff wages and other expenses all adds up, with monthly costs of £1m.

"We secure funding from a mix of public sector, such as regional development agencies, and private sector outlets, such as corporations or wealthy individuals," explains Mr Cope.

"A very small amount of cash comes from the general public."

The price of loans and services, plus other costs, comes to £1m a month

The funding split is roughly 35% public money and 65% private money.

To mark the 25th anniversary of the business trust a number of workshops are being held, where those who have benefited from loans and support in the past are passing on their advice.

"Many of the UK's top entrepreneurs have committed to supporting youth enterprise and are running one-on-one enterprise workshops with the trust's young entrepreneurs across the UK," the trust says.

"This is to promote the need for successful entrepreneurs to pass on their expertise to inspire the next generation."

'Cost effective'

The average loan amount is £2,000, although up to £4,000 can be borrowed by individuals, and up to £5,000 by partnerships.

"We are hugely cost effective," says Mr Cope, who says 89p in the £1 is spent on the young people the trust supports.

"This first thing for a young person is to set their business up, the next thing is to keep it going, and these workshops will increase their chances of doing that by using the expert advice on offer."

Taking part in the 25th anniversary celebrations of the business programme are Karnilla Bell and Emeline Pillay, founder of trust-supported West Indian food business Windies.

"The trust business programme gives tremendous support, mentoring, and regular checks to make sure everything is going well, or to make sure we have no problems," says Emeline.

"They are there for us if we need anything."