David Coe Jewellers
GOLDSMITH SEES A BRIGHT FUTURE
Loan from Foundation East gives Norwich business a new beginning
GOLDSMITH David Coe has been given a fresh start to help him take his ancient art into the 21st century.
The craftsman has been able to bring his work repairing and restoring jewellery to the cutting edge of the industry thanks to a business loan from Foundation East, the community finance organisation.
The funding has been invested in the latest technology, including a computer-generated design programme and a laser welder which allows David to do much more intricate work than older methods allow.
Thanks to the new equipment, the 60-year-old has been able to substantially increase the range and amount of work he does for clients, including antique shops and high-end shops in London and the Midlands.
Since receiving the £10,000 funding from Foundation East, turnover has more than doubled.
David currently works alone, but business is now doing so well that he is looking to take on an apprentice. He hopes the extra help will enable him to concentrate on a relatively new interest – designing jewellery using computer-generated images.
David said: “Before I got the funding, I was stuck in a rut and in a small workshop. I wasn’t able to expand the business. Then Richard Albrow, from Albrow Jewellers in Norwich, offered me the chance to move into larger premises at his shop where I could expand the business.
“This was a new start for me and I could think about buying new equipment. The cost of the move, new benches and the laser was high, but the extra help from the loan from Foundation East helped make it possible.”
Foundation East is a membership organisation that provides small business loans of up to £50,000, for individuals and companies that have been refused bank finance. The organisation does not use credit scoring to make a decision, but instead assesses the business plan, cash-flow projections and plans for the future. In this way it looks at the people behind the business and takes into account their knowledge and experience.
David said: “I have been delighted with the support I have had from Foundation East.
“Although the banks saw great potential in my idea, times were hard and they didn’t have the money. But one of the managers suggested I tried Foundation East.
“It was a real leap of faith for Foundation East, but they saw potential.
“Most people who start their own business struggle, but, with Foundation East on your side, whenever you need help you only have to ask. They are always there on the end of the telephone.”
David is now building a strong reputation on the London jewellery scene, particularly since doing work on a broken early-Victorian necklet. Once restored using the laser welder, its value rose from £3-4,000 to a price in the tens of thousands.
Valerie Jarrett, business loans manager for Foundation East in Norfolk, said that she saw the potential in David Coe’s business plan.
She said: “David needed to provide a solid business plan and cash flow projection and this looked well achievable. I then recommended his application to the loans panel. “This is not a computer, but rather a committee of business people and professionals who have invested their own money in Foundation East and understand what it is like to run a business. They approved the application and we are delighted to see that David has gone from strength to strength.”
David said: “I am excited by the future now. I have got my old enthusiasm back for work and life.”