Chorley-based Fresh Perspective Resourcing has secured £30,000 in funding to recruit new members to its team and embrace AI tools to improve efficiency.
NPIF – River & GC Microfinance, which GC Business Finance (GCBF) manages in partnership with River Capital as part of the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund (NPIF).
The recruitment firm was founded in 2016 by sisters Laura and Emily Leyland. It previously secured two £35,000 loans from NPIF – River & GC Microfinance during the Covid-19 pandemic. This enabled it to invest more into digital marketing, leading to its best financial year post-pandemic. It also allowed the team to move its office to a space four times in size, doubling its team to twelve.
The new loan will go towards expanding its current team even further, hiring a salesperson, as well as additional marketers and recruiters. It will also invest in AI and technology to improve its efficiency.
Fresh Perspective has ambitious plans for the future and is looking to reach £1m in turnover by year ten. It also wants to raise more awareness for its new HR service, which it launched earlier this year, and to develop additional services.
Laura Leyland, founder of Fresh Perspectives, said: “Since starting the agency in 2016, we have done things differently to typical recruitment agencies. This new loan will allow us to continue doing this with an increased team and explore adding value to new areas of the recruitment process. Throughout multiple parts of our journey, GC Business Finance has been able to support us, helping Fresh Perspectives get to where it is today.”
Alison Powell, senior loan manager at GC Business Finance, added: “It has been great to work with such a fantastic business and to see how Laura has taken the business from strength to strength since securing the first loan from GCBF in 2020.
"The new loan we have provided will allow it to continue contributing to the Northern business environment, growing as a business and creating new jobs. I look forward to seeing what is next for the Fresh Perspective team.”
The Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund project is supported financially by the European Union using funding from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) as part of the European Structural and Investment Funds Growth Programme 2014-2020 and the European Investment Bank.
Enjoyed this? Read more from Tim Aldred