Real Business Stories
Business growth can stand still in a downturn, but some businesses still manage to thrive. So, how do they do this?
First, they have great ideas that meet customer needs. Second, they think and plan carefully. And third, they take full advantage of support and guidance offered from partners such as Bank of Scotland Commercial. Below are three individual case studies in the form of Q&A's.
Run as a partnership between Craig and Caroline Grieve and John Grant, Spokes is one of Scotland's leading retailers of bicycles and cycling equipment. Offering fantastic deals on bikes, accessories, clothing and parts - as well as providing a high quality repair service - the group recently opened a third store in Kirkcaldy to add to established sites in St Andrews and Dundee, as Craig Grieve's explains.
Big Worldwide Limited is a global travel, technology and media company with two distinct yet complementary divisions: Great Hotels Organisation and Big Media & Events. Though the scale and scope of Big Worldwide's commercial activities makes their banking requirements uniquely challenging, the company has remained profitable through challenging trading conditions for the travel sector, as Peter Gould explains.
The £2.7m Transition Extreme Sports Centre, which opened Easter 2007 in Aberdeen, provides a multi use state-of-the-art recreation facility designed to provide a tough challenge to bikers, climbers and skate boarders, as well as a venue for associated arts - music, fashion, photography, film making and so on.