When personal trainer Frank moved his fitness community into a converted barn on a Surrey estate, he had a clear vision: a place where people who hate the gym could finally feel at home. With support from the Surrey Economic Growth Fund, that vision is becoming a reality.

Frank has been a personal trainer for two decades, and in that time, he noticed something that mainstream fitness has largely ignored.

“There is an opportunity to help people who do not want to be in gyms, or leisure centres and health clubs as the environment just doesn’t suit them,” he said.

That insight shaped his business, Fit With Frank, and his focus has been on helping people who don’t see themselves as the traditional gymgoer. He was mainly doing one-to-ones, but during the pandemic, Frank delivered home workouts online – which suited his audience. But as lockdowns lifted, something shifted.

“Post-Covid, people wanted to be back with other humans again,” he said. “So I started running group classes, and it got bigger and bigger. I had this crew of people who wanted to exercise and have a laugh.”

Not your typical gym location

In January 2026, Frank moved into a private barn on the Priory Farm Estate in South Nutfield, Surrey – a world away from the busy strip-lit gyms his clients want to avoid. The space has been fitted out with better floors, benches, weights and storage, and has an unmistakably relaxed feel.

“It’s got a sofa and a telly,” Frank added. “People feel comfortable.”

Frank said his clientele is largely aged over 40, with strength training for long-term health at the heart of what’s on offer.

“It’s giving them the confidence to say: I can do this stuff,” he said. “There is a definite demand for this.”

Until recently, Fit With Frank was built entirely around Frank himself – one-to-one sessions that, however popular, have a natural ceiling. The Economic Growth Fund grant has helped him make a pivotal shift: investing in the new space and equipment, and building towards a business that can grow beyond him.

“It is just me at the moment,” he said. “The growth fund will help us to grow. We need to be building a business that can go beyond me. The Growth Fund has helped – it has really accelerated it.”

Frank’s ambition is to recruit a like-minded trainer – someone who shares his values but might not thrive in a conventional setting. “Someone who is great with people but does not want to be in the mainstream gyms,” he said.

Fit With Frank knows its purpose and is solving a clear problem – helping people who feel excluded from mainstream fitness to build strength, community and confidence, all in a setting that is genuinely different. It’s a great example of how creative thinking can really take a business to the next level.

The Surrey Economic Growth Fund

To date almost £2 million has been awarded to dozens of recipients across the county via the Surrey Economic Growth Fund. This funding has helped to unlock significant match funding and private investment, growing Surrey’s economy by £9 million.

Any Surrey business looking for funding or help to grow can receive fully-funded support from Business Surrey. Get in touch to find out more via our Contact us form.

The Surrey High Street Growth and Innovation Programme was a county-wide initiative funded by the Surrey Economic Growth Fund to support independent businesses across the whole of Surrey.

The programme was designed to strengthen independent high street and town centre businesses by offering free, practical, and locally tailored support across Surrey high streets.

Smarter Society and The Retail Group were commissioned to deliver the programme in spring 2026. The programme’s package of targeted support included:

• In-person business engagement
• Free practical workshops
• Business toolkits and resources
• Tailored support

Whilst in operation, the programme supported more than 440 high street-based business across the county. The package of support provided has helped to equip the Surrey business owners who took part with the tools to adapt to an ever-evolving environment. One such business is the Leatherhead Theatre. Manager Ruth Price took part in the programme and tells us about her experience.

Leatherhead Theatre – exploring new opportunities for growth

Ruth describes her experience of the programme: “Running the Leatherhead Theatre means balancing tradition with the need to stay visible and relevant in a very competitive environment. As a long established venue, we face ongoing challenges around raising our profile, diversifying income, and continuing to attract and engage audiences in new ways.

“I attended a local workshop followed by a one to one mentoring session to step back from day to day operations and explore new opportunities for growth. The support helped me think practically about how we promote the theatre and make better use of what we already have.

“The session focused on increasing visibility and clearly communicating the full range of everything the theatre offers, rather than relying too heavily on a single income stream. We looked at ways to improve signage and messaging, promote our strengths more consistently, explore pop up and multi use opportunities within the space, and lean more into our identity as an independent charity to strengthen connections with customers and the local community.

“I found the experience genuinely great. The workshop was accessible because it was local, and it was incredibly valuable to be able to step away from my role for a short period without disrupting the theatre’s operation. The marketing elements in particular were very insightful and immediately relevant. I also really valued the opportunity to network with other businesses – this has already resulted in a new partnership that I wouldn’t otherwise have made.

“The one-to-one mentoring session was especially helpful because it provided tailored, practical advice that I can realistically implement. It helped prioritise actions and turn ideas into clear next steps. I found the experience extremely positive and was very impressed with both the way the session was delivered and the impact it has had.”

The Surrey Economic Growth Fund

To date almost £2 million has been awarded to dozens of recipients across the county via the Surrey Economic Growth Fund. This funding has helped to unlock significant match funding and private investment, growing Surrey’s economy by £9 million.

Any Surrey business looking for funding or help to grow can receive fully-funded support from Business Surrey. Get in touch to find out more via our Contact us form.

When artist Kathy Kyle painted a piece of gift wrap for her child’s birthday, she had no idea it would grow into a business built on wearable art and silk. A friend looked at her hand-painted paper and said: “I could imagine that on silk and wearing it. Could you make that for me?”

That moment of recognition planted the seed for Kathy Kyle Studio – a brand built around ethical, sustainable wearable art and luxury stationery, each piece hand-painted, sustainably printed and entirely human-made. Now, with the support of matched funding through the Surrey Economic Growth Fund, Kathy is taking her business to the high street – with space in a shop on Dorking’s historic West Street.

Kathy spent nearly 25 years working as a communications and marketing director for global consultancies and agencies in Washington D.C. before making the leap to follow her creative calling.

“I decided to follow my dreams and become an artist,” she says. “I did that only a year ago and it’s been incredible how fulfilling it’s been.”

The business grew organically from her art practice – a stained shirt rescued with hand-painted designs; scarves commissioned by friends; gift wrap that became fabric.

“I don’t want to overproduce,” she says. “I wanted to create wearable art that adds value to people’s lives. For me it is about purpose and intention – how can I create something beautiful that endures?”

Growing the business from idea to High Street

What followed was a rapid series of milestones: a launch at a Soho gallery; a debut at Top Drawer trade fair, which brought her first stockists; scarves shown at London Fashion Week through her Buy Women Built network; and a pitch at the Great British Pitch exploring international trade. Yet without external funding, scaling remained out of reach at this early stage.

“We needed this seed to help us grow,” she explains. “I was just using my savings and earnings. We needed to expand and diversify our approach.”

As one of nearly 30 local Surrey businesses to receive grant funding through the Surrey Economic Growth Fund, Kathy describes the award as transformational. The investment is enabling her to expand her core pure silk accessories range – with luxury scarves and wraps – as well as extending her stationery line into interiors, including wallpaper, cushions, linens, and bespoke fabric and commissions.

“People have said to me, I really want to see your art on cushions, fabric, or wallpaper,” she says. “I can now do those things.”

The new studio space is in Sandrock House on Dorking’s West Street – an award-winning interiors shop, and a fitting home for a brand that believes in collaboration and community.

“The world of retail is changing,” Kathy says. “It helps everyone to collaborate to be successful. Lift each other up.”

It’s a philosophy that runs through everything she does, including her commitment to making every piece ethically and as sustainably as possible, and by hand without AI. “I have taken great care to collaborate with suppliers who share our values and I think you can see this ethos in the quality and craftsmanship of our products.”

“I am thrilled to receive this boost to the business,” says Kathy. “I am looking forward to not only bringing our vision to market, but doing it in online and offline: in real life, in my community, and in a shop.”

The Surrey Economic Growth Fund

To date almost £2 million has been awarded to dozens of recipients across the county via the Surrey Economic Growth Fund. This funding has helped to unlock significant match funding and private investment, growing Surrey’s economy by £9 million.

Any Surrey business looking for funding or help to grow can receive fully-funded support from Business Surrey. Get in touch to find out more via our Contact us form.