Divorce pay-out helps fund new business

21/07/2010

GAINING funding for new business ventures has been notoriously difficult following the recession.

But one Hull entrepreneur found an unusual solution.

Helen Scaife used the pay-out from her divorce settlement to set up a new sandwich shop, Tasty, at Humber Place on Hull's Marina.

It cost Helen about £12,000 to get her fledgling business off the ground and she did not have to borrow any money from the banks.

Helen said: "My ex-husband had a takeaway and when we divorced I received a lump sum.

"But I didn't want to put him get into difficulty trying to pay it or anything so he had five years before he had to pay it.

"So I thought when I got the money I wanted to do something with it rather than just waste it.

"I was a hairdresser but when I was 16 I worked in a sandwich shop and I loved it."

She found the premises in February then spent four weeks redecorating the building and another three months searching e-Bay for a good price on all the necessary equipment.

Tasty opened its doors to the public 12 weeks ago and has already capitalised on the growing number of workers based in the Fruit Market area next to the Marina.

Helen said: "The first week wasn't very good but since then it has really been picking up.

"I get a lot of office workers in, people from the World Trade Centre and the other offices round here.

"There are also loads of people working on the redevelopment of the Fruit Market who are coming in."

The deal on the Humber Place property was overseen by Paul White, surveyor at Garness Jones.

Mr White told Helen that the property was a "gold mine".

Helen said: "I looked at the property and it looked nice and I knew there was nothing else similar around here.

"When I saw how nice this place was and thought about things like the Clipper that would be happening and the redevelopment.

"Paul White said if you choose that property it will be a little gold mine."

Tasty is a deli-style sandwich shop with freshly made fillers prepared by Helen each morning.

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Garness Jones