THRIVING FAMILY FRIENDLY CAFÉ ENJOYING EXPANSION FOLLOWING FUNDING

Added by Love Business East Midlands | 15 December 2017

UPDATED: 15 December 2017

SUCCESSFUL family focused café The Milk Lounge is going from strength to strength after opening in a second Nottinghamshire location, thanks to funding from Enterprise Loans.

The Milk Lounge was set up by Charlotte Purdie, 23, in 2016 with a location in Arnold. The café received national attention for being the UK’s first purpose-built breastfeeding café and has been accredited by the Gedling Borough Council as part of its ‘breast feeding-friendly’ initiative.

After just a year of trading in Arnold, Charlotte has opened up a second location – this time in Beeston – with huge success. With both cafes continuing to thrive, Charlotte keen to debunk the image that The Milk Lounge is just for breastfeeding mums.

She said: “I originally set up The Milk Lounge because as a first-time mother I was really struggling to find a positive public place to breastfeed my son. The original concept focused on providing a safe space for breastfeeding but it has grown into much more than that – we are a really open café that caters and offers support for every type of parent and child.

“We really want to be an all-inclusive, go-to space for all parents so we offer classes such as child psychology – a course run by NG:She - alongside our regular baby massage, mother and baby yoga etc. We also serve healthy food options, as well as lots of homemade cakes, with vegan, dairy and gluten free alternatives.”

Enterprise Loans, a leading East Midlands finance and business support provider, has supported the entrepreneurial mother with start-up loans for each location.

Charlotte added: “I would love to expand the business and bring The Milk Lounge and everything we have to offer to different parts of Nottinghamshire. The dream is also to one day set up the business as a franchise and enable other people to join our unique venture.

“Enterprise Loans were fantastic throughout the entire process and really listened to me. I would definitely recommend them to any other small business owners who just need a little help to get off the ground.”

Victoria Copestake, business development manager at Enterprise Loans, said: “We’re really proud to support Charlotte with getting the funds she needed to expand The Milk Lounge.

“The first loan helped to cover the legal fees and refurbishment costs of initially setting up the business, whilst the second loan - supplemented by capital from the success of the Arnold café - helped to buy all the furniture and cover some promotion around its launch. We can’t wait to see what the future holds for The Milk Lounge.”

To find out more about The Milk Lounge visit www.themilklounge.co.uk and for more details about Enterprise Loans visit www.first-enterprise.co.uk or call 0115 942 3772.

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