Category: Surrey Success Stories

BiofuelAi wins Manchester Prize for AI innovation

Published 16 June 2026

Events and awards, Innovation, Surrey Success Stories

BiofuelAi – a University of Surrey spinout that uses artificial intelligence to help biogas plants produce more renewable energy at lower cost with reduced emissions – has won the Manchester Prize. The UK government’s flagship AI innovation challenge comes with a £1 million government award.

BiofuelAi, co-founded by Professor Michael Short from the University of Surrey, has developed an AI-powered decision support platform. This transforms how biogas plant operators manage production.  

Where plants have historically relied on experience, know-how and intuitions, the new platform gives operators a real-time picture of what is happening inside their digesters and what action will produce the best outcome.  

Pilot trials have demonstrated revenue increases of between 6 and 10 per cent. Profit is up between 7 and 13 per cent while there is a 28 per cent reduction in carbon emissions.

BiofuelAi’s Manchester Prize win is a real boon for the company, which is based at the Surrey Technology Centre in Guildford.

Expansion plans are underway. BiofuelAi is currently onboarding three new sites with its solution and has signed a UK reseller agreement. In time this could create new roles for the local economy and support regional growth.

BiofuelAi – roots in Surrey

BiofuelAi is a spinout from the University of Surrey’s AI4AD research project. It has attracted more than £1.5m in research funding.

The focus is on biogas. This is produced through anaerobic digestion, the breakdown of organic material such as agricultural waste, food waste and wastewater. It is a significant and growing component of the UK’s renewable energy mix.  

The founding team includes Dr Benaissa Dekhici, Dr Rohit Murali and Dr Ruosi Zhang alongside Professor Short and Alan Beesley. Together they combine over 40 years of modelling expertise with experience of the biogas industry.

BiofuelAi’s platform works by combining mechanistic models, machine learning and hybrid approaches to create a digital twin of a biogas plant.

This allows for simultaneous optimisation of short-term decisions – such as feeding recipes and storage management – and longer-term ones, including feedstock acquisition and digester health. It also accounts for uncertainty in the biological process.

Over five years, BiofuelAi projects its platform could deliver more than £500m in client value. By 2030, the company estimates its platform could mitigate 293,000 tonnes of CO2 equivalent per year across the UK – the equivalent of heating 133,000 homes. 

BiofuelAi and the Manchester Prize – reaction

Alan Beesley, CEO and co-founder of BiofuelAi, said: “The biogas industry is one of the least data-driven sectors in energy. Plants that generate the heat and power for thousands of homes are still largely managed through spreadsheets and operator experience.

“BiofuelAi changes that. Winning the Manchester Prize validates the work of an exceptional team and accelerates our mission to make green energy more affordable, more consistent and more accessible.”

Science Minister Lord Vallance said: “The technology BiofuelAi has built could supercharge our mission to power Britain with clean, affordable energy, helping green energy plants produce even more power and cut carbon emissions. And they are just getting started.

“The Manchester Prize was created to find exactly this kind of innovation. Not AI as an abstract idea, but something that delivers results. This is British AI leadership in practice: world-class researchers tackling hard challenges and helping to build the industries of the future.”

Professor Stephen Jarvis, President and Vice-Chancellor at the University of Surrey, said: “BiofuelAi follows a long tradition of spinouts from our University – grounded in research with a clear purpose, by people determined to see it make a difference beyond the campus.

“The work started here in Guildford and has now won national recognition for what it could mean for the UK’s clean energy supply. That matters because energy security is not an abstract policy question right now. It depends on producing more of what we need at home, and the less efficiently we use domestic resources like biogas, the more dependent we remain on supplies we cannot control.”

Innovation support from Business Surrey

Business Surrey is a free accessible service to anyone looking to start or grow a business.

This includes working with universities and experts to support turning ideas into fully-fledged businesses via programmes like Surrey Venture Studio.

Do you have an idea to drive growth? Get in touch via our Business Support Form.

A group of employees from BiofuelAI in Surrey pose in front of a backdrop for the Manchester Prize

Helping high street businesses diversify income streams and reach new customers

Published 26 May 2026

Funding and grants, Surrey Success Stories

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.

Meat vending machine coming to Surrey farm thanks to Economic Growth Fund

Published 15 May 2026

Funding and grants, Innovation, Surrey Success Stories

A Surrey farmer is bringing consumers closer to his produce – by setting up a meat vending machine at Ivelle Farm in Cranleigh. It’s been made possible thanks to funding from the Surrey Economic Growth Fund.

A decade ago, Alec Clouting spotted an unusual idea at a farming event – vending machines selling local produce. He realised it could be a way to diversify his family’s business and give the community direct access to farm-fresh meat. But with limited funds, the idea had to be put on hold. 

But Alec can now make his dream a reality with help from the Economic Growth Fund. The grant has helped to buy a shipping container, commercial freezer and vending machine. This allows him to sell frozen beef, lamb and pork, seven days a week. 

The meat vending machine selling at Ivelle Farm in Cranleigh is set to open this Spring. 

Are you a Surrey farmer or rural business looking for support to diversify? Or have an idea that will help your enterprise grow? Get in touch with our team of experts via our Business Support Form.

Bringing consumers closer to produce

Most meat from Ivelle Farm is sold wholesale to livestock markets and then re-sold to supermarkets. But selling the meat direct to consumers gives the farmers more control – and more of the profits. 

What’s more, it keeps people connected with food producers. Alec says: “I am a big believer of people being in touch with where their food comes from, for the local community to be able to come to the farm where it comes from and get it direct.” 

Alec is the fourth generation of farmers at Ivelle Farm. His father is currently at the helm. But he’s been working at other farms while looking for a way back into the family firm. 

He explains: “We’re finding there’s a lot of financial challenges with farming. It is a small farm and this will give me an opportunity to come back, have a place in the business and viably sell our produce direct to the consumer. It wouldn’t be happening without the funding.” 

And the impact extends beyond one family’s enterprise. The initiative supports a local butcher and abattoir, creating a network of rural businesses working together.

He says: “The benefits go further than just us, and it is about supporting other local businesses.” 

Alec’s vision doesn’t stop at meat. He said: “I am excited to adapt the farm to what the community consumes and what is in demand in the local area. Down the line I would like to expand so people can come and get all their basics.” 

As a proof of concept, the model could be replicated across other farms through a franchise approach, offering a blueprint for agricultural diversification in an era of farming uncertainty. 

Farming and the Economic Growth Fund

Ivelle Farm is one of several rural businesses to benefit from the Surrey Economic Growth Fund.

Alec said: “I’m very grateful for the opportunity the Economic Growth Fund has provided me with. And doubled up with the support from the team at Business Surrey, it’s really helped get the project off the ground and build a vision for the future.  

“Farming is a very difficult business to navigate with many layers of complexity. And with the recent added pressures of the farm inheritance tax, it’s becoming harder to make small family farms like ours financially viable.

“Many futures have been thrown into uncertainty. So having a futureproof way of selling my produce as profitably as I can will give me the best chance I could wish for!”  

Are you a Surrey farmer or rural business looking for support to diversify? Or have an idea that will help your enterprise grow? Get in touch with our team of experts via our Business Support Form.

Alec Clouting at Ivelle Farm, Cranleigh | Surrey Economic Growth Fund | Rural economy

Surrey Venture Studio’s first incubation programme gets off to flying start

Published 12 May 2026

Advice and support, Funding and grants, Innovation, Surrey Success Stories

Surrey Venture Studio (SVS) is preparing to launch its first six‑month incubation programme, supporting early‑stage founders across Surrey to turn raw ideas and early‑stage concepts into customer‑ready businesses. The incubation accelerator is aimed at pre‑start‑ups who have completed SVS’s business ideation workshops and offers tailored support based on each entrepreneur’s stage of development.

One of the founders joining the inaugural cohort is Natalie Foo, creator of InchStone, a voice‑first app designed to support families raising children with developmental differences.

Meeting a need discovered from personal experience

InchStone was shaped by personal experience. Natalie explains, “I built it because I’m a parent in this community and the gap was too obvious to ignore.”

“The app organises your spoken observations into records ready for therapy, funding applications, and official assessments.”

Natalie first engaged with SVS through its intensive two‑day workshops, which focus on validating ideas before founders rush into building products.

As SVS Manager Odysseas Bassioukas, puts it, “SVS is a venture builder where people are coming to us to build from the idea to a company.”

“The workshops were intense but incredibly helpful,” Natalie says. “They helped me hone in on my idea and start making a plan. The focus on customer development really stood out; SVS puts that the right way around.”

The incubation programme will provide expert mentorship, peer support and hot‑desking facilities, alongside access to professional services such as legal advice, to help founders protect their intellectual property. For Natalie, the timing feels right. “It feels like the right moment to find out what’s actually working,” she says, as she prepares to pilot InchStone and connect with Surrey’s wider business network.

What is Surrey Venture Studio?

This is an exciting new pre-accelerator programme to help innovators, academics and entrepreneurs across Surrey explore whether turning an idea into a business is the right path to follow.

This exciting programme includes:

  • A two-day, in-person ideation workshop
  • Expert mentoring
  • Opportunity to progress to a six-month accelerator
  • Up to £25,000 catalyst grant funding, for successful six-month accelerator participant
  • Spaces on the workshop are limited and will be offered to applicants whose ideas are at the right stage of development and show strong potential for innovation and commercialisation.

At the end of the two-day workshop, participants will be invited to pitch their ideas ‘Dragon’s Den’-style. The successful applicants will secure a coveted place on the six-month accelerator programme and take a step closer to securing £25k in grant funding to launch their business!

Grant helps Surrey artist Kathy Kyle take wearable art from home studio to the high street

Published 8 May 2026

Funding and grants, Surrey Success Stories

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.

Kathy sits at a table working on her designs on paper. | Business Surrey, Economic Growth Fund

Surrey County Council supporting farmers to diversify in a tough climate for rural economy

Published 17 March 2026

Advice and support, Funding and grants, Surrey Success Stories

Rural businesses in Surrey are finding ways to adapt and thrive thanks to funding and support from Surrey County Council.

Rising costs, falling prices and policy uncertainty have left farming communities across the UK struggling to make ends meet. But across Surrey, farmers are finding ways to adapt – and Surrey County Council’s Economic Growth Fund is providing the investment to make it possible.

From a new vineyard in Surrey Hills, to shepherd hut stays and meat vending machines, a new generation of farming entrepreneurs are finding innovative ways to diversify, sustain and futureproof their businesses.

About £380.000 in funding has been invested in Surrey’s rural economy in recent months via the Economic Growth Fund, unlocking more than £100,000 in private sector investment and supporting dozens of jobs.

Support is set to be stepped up later this year with a dedicated farming business support specialist working with farms and rural businesses across Surrey to help them navigate challenges.

Anyone interested in finding out more can get in touch using our contact us form.

Diversifying to overcome challenges

Louise Wilkinson is the third generation of her family at Upper Birtley Farm, and she returned with her two children after a career in hospitality. Her father still runs the arable side of the business, growing wheat and oats in a market which is very challenging to make a profit.

Something needed to change – and Louise’s solution was to bring in shepherd’s huts offering rural escapes, alongside a community events space hosting courses with local beekeepers, foragers and butchers.

Alongside her hospitality experience, Louise said camping on the land with her daughters is what gave her the idea to create a countryside escape.

“It’s about adding to British farming,” she said. “We have this piece of land that can’t be farmed for whatever reason , and it makes the farm more sustainable.”

With a test run planned for April and a full launch targeting the May bank holidays, Louise is building something that she hopes will carry the farm through for another generation. “I’m third generation with two children who will be excited to grow up here,” she said. “It’s everything really.”

Innovative ways to increase sales and grow markets

Almost a decade ago, fourth-generation farmer Alec Clouting was at a farming event and spotted vending machines selling local produce. He immediately saw their potential, but without the funds to make it happen, the idea stayed on the backburner.

Now, thanks to the Economic Growth Fund, it’s becoming reality, and Alec was able to buy a shipping container, commercial freezer and vending machine to sell frozen beef, lamb and pork directly to consumers, seven days a week at Ivelle Farm in Cranleigh.

Most of the farm’s meat currently goes to livestock markets and on to supermarkets – a model that leaves farmers with little control and thinner margins. Selling direct means better profit margins while making a connection with consumers locally.

“I am a big believer of people being in touch with where their food comes from,” Alec said. “For the local community to be able to come to the farm where it comes from and get it direct.”

The model also creates a ripple effect, supporting a local butcher and abattoir and strengthening a network of rural businesses. Looking further ahead, Alec sees franchise potential – a blueprint that other farms could replicate.

He said: “Farming is a very difficult business to navigate with many layers of complexity, and with the recent added pressures of the farm inheritance tax, it’s becoming harder to make small family farms like ours financially viable. So having a future-proof way of selling my produce as profitably as I can will give me the best chance I could wish for.”

Using natural resources in new, sustainable, ways

Jason and Emma Robertshaw bought Blakes Lane Farm in 2018, but they weren’t sure what came next – only that they wanted to put the land to good use. The land was home to a run-down equestrian centre and was used by tenant sheep farmers. They soon discovered the farm sits on the same chalk that extends beneath the English Channel into France’s Champagne region.

“We started planting vines in 2020,” Jason explains. “It was a pretty small-scale experiment to see how they grow. We then realised we’ve got the ideal growing climate for sparkling wine.”

That experiment has grown into The Guildford Vineyard, an English sparkling wine producer now building a purpose-built, sustainably-designed winery – with match funding from the Economic Growth Fund providing the financial foundation they needed. When at full capacity, the vineyard aims to produce 10,000 bottles a year, with ambitions to export to Japan alongside domestic sales to restaurants and hotels. And the tenant farmer’s sheep will remain on the land grazing between the vines in winter, which brings in regenerative farming practices, something which was important to the plan, as Jason comes from a farming family.

“We couldn’t have done it without the grant,” the couple said. “We wouldn’t have been able to build the winery. It has been fantastic.”

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 – rural or urban, looking for funding or help to grow can receive fully-funded support from Business Surrey. Get in touch via our Contact us form.

Alec Clouting at Ivelle Farm, Cranleigh | Surrey Economic Growth Fund | Rural economy

A safer future: using AI and radar technology to prevent road accidents

Published 14 March 2026

Surrey Success Stories

A Surrey-based technology company is pioneering a new approach to road safety by using artificial intelligence and radar sensors to predict dangerous traffic incidents before they occur.

Dorian Isaacson, founder of Rhevia, said: “The motivation behind starting the business was on a Friday afternoon I would untether myself from Teams and I would take a walk to the high street in town with my two daughters and I would go past three zebra crossings. Often drivers would just drive over the zebra crossing.

“I wanted to solve the reason a driver does not see a pedestrian and to understand how often this happens and what are the forces that lead it to happening. Realising what the problem is and then solving it is what we’re starting to do now.”

The technology behind it

Rhevia developed an AI-powered intelligence platform that transforms radar data into actionable insights for transport safety, planning and operational efficiency. Unlike traditional traffic monitoring systems, Rhevia deliberately avoids cameras, opting instead for radar technology that respects privacy while gathering critical data.

“We help private and public organisations understand how vehicles are moving in real time and over time so they can make informed decisions on roads,” Dorian explains.

The company serves both public sector clients like councils and private organisations with ports and factories – “places where pedestrians and vehicles are constantly interacting.”

How the funding is helping

The grant from the Surrey Economic Growth Fund will enable Rhevia to advance beyond simple movement tracking to predictive analytics.

“We are using the grant to bring context to the movements. For example, there’s a couple of near misses at this zebra crossing and these are the reasons why,” says Dorian.

“That has been the focus of the funds from the grant, to build up the analytics – to move from trailing indicators to anticipating what might happen. In order to develop that we have employed three people and another two in the pipeline as well.”

Dorian has set ambitious targets for the coming year. He said: “In a year I would hope to be working with ten local authorities with 30 to 40 deployments for each one.

“The Government has recently released a new strategy on roadside safety. I would like Rhevia to be a pioneer in that framework and to prevent those accidents before they occur and to do that throughout the UK.”

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 via our Contact us form.

Glass artist offers ‘completely unique and innovative’ service thanks to Growth Fund grant

Published 19 February 2026

Surrey Success Stories

From stained glass restoration to replicating family portraits on glass, Jim Cockerill of HALTglass already offered something special from his studio in Sutton Green. Now, after receiving a grant from Surrey County Council’s Economic Growth Fund for new equipment, he’s able to provide unique services unavailable elsewhere in the UK.

HALTglass specialises in creating high-resolution images on glass using traditional stained glass materials, combined with modern techniques such as silk screen printing and sandblasting.

The grant has enabled Jim to purchase two key pieces of equipment: a much larger kiln and a sandblaster.
“The kiln means I can take on architectural-scale projects for clients, while the sandblaster opens up a whole new market in technique and image preparation,” Jim said.

“The exciting thing about this sandblaster is I can offer processing that isn’t available anywhere else in the UK, so it’s very specialist. I’m working within a niche that will definitely expand my business.”
HALTglass serves a diverse client base, from architects and artists looking to realise their work in glass, as well as restoration specialists and stained glass studios.

Future possibilities for HALTglass, thanks to the grant funding

“I work with artists, designers, photographers and architects,” Jim said. “This will allow me to facilitate much larger commissions, much more ambitious commissions, as well as offer them services in glass decoration that are completely unique and quite innovative.

“I’m currently developing a screenprintable sandblast resist. A product and service which is completely new to the market and offering my clients new possibilities in glass.”

Jim noted he wouldn’t have been able to purchase the equipment without the Council’s support. He reports that the grant has made his business more sustainable and enabled growth that ‘could never have happened without this funding’.

“I’ll soon be opening up my facilities in the form of experience days to cater for a broader market and allow anyone who has a passion for the arts to try this new technique.”

More about the Surrey Economic Growth Fund

To date almost £2 million has been awarded to dozens of recipients 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 via our Contact us form.

Halt glass - Jim screenprints onto glass in his Surrey workshop

Lesh: maternity brand borne out of sleepless nights looks ahead to a bright future

Published 4 February 2026

Advice and support, Business news, Surrey Success Stories

Kat Fellows launched Lesh, a leak-proof nursing bra brand, from her Epsom home in August 2024. Now, with match funding from Surrey County Council’s Economic Growth Fund, she’s scaling the business and plans to hire local mothers as her team grows.

Before becoming an entrepreneur, Kat worked as a director in beauty marketing. “I got pregnant during Covid, not knowing what to expect when I returned to work,” she said. “As time went on, it became clear this corporate life wouldn’t mesh with being a mother.”

She decided to start a business solving a problem she’d experienced firsthand as a breastfeeding mother.

“The second my son latched on, it was amazing – I had this incredible experience,” Kat said. “I loved breastfeeding, but the only thing I didn’t love was that I leaked constantly.”

She cycled through countless disposable and reusable breast pads, and said: “They would move around, and I’d still wake up soaked, lying in a puddle of milk. Sleep is sacred when you have young children. Plus, the disposable ones are so wasteful.”

When she searched for alternatives, nothing met her needs. “Most products had clearly not been live-tested on a mum with oversupply like myself,” she said. I thought, “If no one is doing it the right way, I’m going to do it.”

Live-testing early Lesh prototypes

Kat spent a year and a half developing and testing prototypes during her second breastfeeding journey. “I never had to buy a disposable pad,” she said. “It took that long until I had something I was comfortable launching.”

Since launching in August 2024, Lesh has gained momentum, and the Economic Growth Fund will help propel it further.

“This grant will allow me to drive brand awareness and grow the business to a place where I can pitch for additional funding to become an internationally recognised brand in the maternity space,” Kat said.

Looking ahead, Kat envisions building a team of local mothers. “The first hire I needed was for social media – I’ve been using an agency, but I’d like that work to go to a local mum. I want to employ mothers who need that extra income. Eventually, I want to convert the garage into an office and warehouse, with local mums supporting customer service, order fulfilment, packaging, and returns.”

Evidently, big plans lie ahead for this innovative Surrey business.

More about the Surrey Economic Growth Fund

To date almost £2 million has been awarded to dozens of recipients 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 via our Contact us form.

Emilia Hunt: high street dream becomes reality thanks to Growth Fund

Published 30 January 2026

Advice and support, Funding and grants, Surrey Success Stories

Opening a shop was a long-held dream of maker and designer Emilia Hunt, and thanks to help from the Economic Growth Fund, that dream is now a reality.

She opened her self-titled shop on 17 Bell Street, Reigate, in September, selling handmade and bespoke items at accessible price points. As well as her own products, which include homewares, gifts and stationery, she also sells carefully selected items from other makers.

“I know hundreds of makers,” Emilia said. “And I’ve got all the good ones in my shop.”

British made products are the focus of the shop, with three quarters of the products made in the South East.

“Everything in the shop is UK made. I am a real stickler for making sure everything is actually made in the UK. Everything in the shop I have chosen.”

Emilia started her business 10 years ago after taking medical retirement due to cystic fibrosis, and since then has been building a homewares brand which is now stocked in places like Squires Garden Centres.

The High Street dream

It was when she had a small space above an antiques shop that Emilia realised a high-street stop could work.

“You couldn’t see my stuff from the front window,” she said. “Every single person came up and said I didn’t know you were here. But it was so well received. I was talking to my mum and said this could work, people really like it. It needs to be somewhere where people can see it.”

She then found out a shop vacancy was coming up on Reigate high street and made an enquiry with the owners.

“I found out it was very expensive,” said Emilia. “There were two offers higher than mine, but I shared with them my vision and they accepted mine. They’ve given me a chance.”

How the funding has helped

She said she couldn’t have done it without the Economic Growth Fund, which has gone towards helping the shop launch, as well as admin costs and things like a music license to play music on the premises.

On her vision for the shop, Emilia said: “I want it to have a welcoming feel and be accessible for people. I wanted things to be £3.50 and £10, I want people to know handmade doesn’t necessarily mean expensive. It can be done, it doesn’t cost the earth.

“I want to have conversations. I always try to be available for people to ask questions. Obviously, it’s about quality products, but if you make the customer experience the best it can be, that customer is going to remember that and talk about that when they get home, I want people to have the best experience.”

On her advice for budding start ups or established business owners who want to take a leap, Emilia said: “Anyone can do what they really want to do; do some drawing, make something, have a bit more faith in yourself, apply for the funding, see what you can get going. If you have got an idea, just believe in yourself.”

More about the Surrey Economic Growth Fund

Surrey County Council launched the Economic Growth Fund in April 2025 with the aim to support ideas that will accelerate growth, boost innovation and create new employment opportunities.

Approximately £2 million was distributed when the first round of grants was announced in September 2025.

With a further £1 million awarded in round two, the total invested locally in 2025 now stands at more than £3 million.

The Economic Growth Fund is one of several ways the council supports businesses and the regional Surrey economy.

To register for fully-funded support to start and grow a business get in touch via our Business Support Form.