Therapy Centre moves to "another level" expands thanks to Small Capital Grant

"One of my clients suggested I contact the county council...he received some support which really made a difference to his business and said they were great to deal with and knew their stuff. I'm so glad I took his advice!"

A therapy centre in Warwickshire is growing as a business and expanding its benefit to the community after receiving a Small Capital Grant from Warwickshire County Council.

Therapy & Fitness Centre (formerly Leamington Therapy Centre) has increased its treatments room from two to five, taken on a podiatrist and a receptionist and will soon add another sports therapist to its staff.

The Centre has never been so busy, so it needed to expand and the grant enabled it to do that, moving into a newly-refurbished base in Warwick Street in February.

Business owner Lisa Moore hosted an open day there earlier this month to welcome potential new customers and thank those who have been treated by her and her staff for years.

After some inevitable difficulties caused by lockdowns and the pandemic, business is now booming - and the Small Capital Grant has played a significant role in that, said Lisa.

"The grant has helped take the business to another level," she said. "It enabled us to buy equipment so that we could move from two treatment rooms to five in our new base right in the heart of town.

"We are now in a great location. There has been a lot of change in the high street in the last year or two with some retailers moving out and that enabled us to us to move into the gap. Quite a lot of people in Leamington don't drive and now we are right where the footfall is greatest."

Lisa's clients, who undergo a wide range of massages and treatments to assist with pain relief, have much to be thankful to her for - and she is very grateful to them for their loyal support...and to one in particular for a piece of very good advice.

"It was one of my clients who suggested I contact the county council," she said. "He received some support which really made a difference to his business and said they were great to deal with and knew their stuff. I'm so glad I took his advice.

"We have had so much interest at the open day and since and I just want to say a big thank to the county council and all my wonderful staff and customers."

Warwickshire County County's Portfolio Holder for Economy & Place, Cllr Kam Kaur said: "Our Small Capital Grants have been phenomenally successful in supporting small businesses across the county since 2015 and Therapy & Fitness Centre is a great example. It is a resilient, enterprising small business which gives so much to its community and we are delighted to have played a part in its growth."

Laura Delahunty, business navigator at the Coventry & Warwickshire Local Enterprise Partnership Growth Hub, added: “When we first spoke with Lisa, one of the main areas she was seeking support in was finding new premises to allow her to expand the business so we provided advice about accessing some financial support to carry out refurbishment work.

“She was also exploring options in relation to recruitment and we worked with Lisa to signpost her to the right support as well as introduced her to the team at Warwickshire County Council Small Capital Grant Fund which then led to her finding new premises and securing grant funding for the work that the site required.”

* For more information about the Small Capital Grants scheme, please visit www.warwickshire.gov.uk/directory-record/1/warwickshire-county-council-growth-fund-small-capital-grants