Houghton-le-Spring news
Overseas expansion
adds up for Inflo
Success - Scott Wilson-Laing
of WL Distillery.
Bottling up the region’s spirit
A
n entrepreneur is proving he has
the bottle to go it alone with the
launch of a new micro-distillery
in County Durham.
Scott Wilson-Laing, was inspired to
launch Hetton-based WL Distillery after
developing a passion for sampling rare,
local delicacies whilst volunteering as an
archaeologist overseas.
Having spent three years studying and
traveling in destinations such as Italy
(Pompeii), Cyprus, Turkey and Germany,
Scott returned to the North-East.
After years working in a number of 9am-
5pm roles, he soon yearned for a change and
decided to take the brave step of setting up
his own business, with the goal of fusing his
love for the North-East with his long-held
passion for producing and sampling niche
local drinks.
“Wherever you go, there always seems to
be a regional drink or spirit that represents
that area and it’s nice to be able to experience
the local delicacies whenever you visit
somewhere new, it was what I loved most
about being in different countries,” he said.
“Now that I look back, I’ve always had an
interest in how things are made.
“A Spanish wine reminds you of a holiday
or a Raki that reminds you of Turkey, I want
to create something that bottles up and
gives people a real flavour of the North-East,
something that is reminiscent and evocative.
That’s what inspired me to launch WL
Distillery.”
WL’s products will take inspiration from
the regional landscape, using fresh, premium
ingredients such as blackberries, pears and
apples to produce handmade, small-batch
gin.
Scott has been supported throughout his
start-up journey by the North East Business
& Innovation Centre (BIC), working with
experienced business advisor Ron Anderson
and attending a series of workshops and
masterclasses on everything from ‘financial
planning’ to ‘an introduction to Instagram
marketing’.
CONTINUED GROWTH
FOR PACIFICA
Pacifica Group, the leading UK domestic
energy and appliance services provider,
has reported strong growth and a positive
outlook in its latest set of annual results.
The national company, which has its
headquarters in the North-East achieved
turnover of £41m for its financial year
ending March 2019, up from £36m the
previous year.
Pacifica Group has also forecast continued
growth in its current financial year, ending
March 2020, with turnover reaching £53m
with an EBITDA in excess of £3m.
A fintech business is set to continue
investing in the region after strong
international growth, including a deal
with Thomson Reuters, saw it record its
best year to date.
Inflo, based at the Evolve Business
Centre in Houghton-le-Spring, has
developed a suite of software solutions
with the potential to revolutionise the
global accounting industry.
Founded in 2016 by former
accountants turned tech entrepreneurs
Mark Edmondson and Graham Clark,
the pair have developed ground-breaking
workflow, data ingestion, data analytics
and AI software that has attracted the
attention of some of the industry’s biggest
names.
FAST TIMES AT
KARTING NORTH-EAST
A five-year plan has been launched
to make a karting venue at Warden
Law, on the outskirts of Houghton,
one of the best in the North-East.
The new owner of Karting North-
East, Matthew Hunter, says the
venue is an asset for the area and
hundreds of thousands of pounds
will be generated for the local
economy from it.
Matthew, the father of karting
stars Rhys and Kai Hunter, is
passionate about the sport and one
of his first steps since taking over the
venue will be refurbishing its fleet
of karts.
And having successfully teed
off, the group will meet monthly
to bring businesses together and
owners who have a shared love of
the global game.
wear.business – the voice of business for the Wear region
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