Local, fairer, stronger: social businesses creating growth...

/businesswales.gov.wales/socialbusinesswales

Social Business Wales

Local, fairer, stronger: social businesses creating growth in Wales

02 | Case study: Antur ‘Stiniog

Authors: Eva Trier, Endaf Griffiths and Ioan Teifi, Wavehill Ltd

Commissioned and published by Social Business Wales.

Social Business Wales is funded by theEuropean Regional Development Fund andWelsh Government. It is delivered by theWales Co-operative Centre and is part of theBusiness Wales service.

Wales Co-operative CentreY Borth13 Beddau WayCaerphillyCF83 2AX

0300 111 [email protected]

The Wales Co-operative Development and Training CentreLimited (trading as the Wales Co-operative Centre) is aregistered society under the Co-operative and CommunityBenefit Societies Act 2014, number 24287 R.

Rydym yn croesawu gohebiaeth yn Gymraeg a Saesneg.Ni fydd oedi os byddwch yn gohebu â ni yn Gymraeg.

AcknowledgementsWe would also like to thank the many individualswho gave their time to assist in the researchundertaken for this study.

We would also like to extend our particularthanks to Meirion Thomas of Penbryn Consultingand Keith Edwards of Keith Edwards Ltd. whooffered their reflections on social businessgrowth as illustrated by the case studybusinesses.

This report would not have been possiblewithout all of these contributions.

01 Local, fairer, stronger: social businesses creating growth in Wales

02 | CaSe STudyAntur ‘Stiniog

Antur ‘Stiniog (AS) was established in 2007 by the then Communities First Officer. Wanting totake Welsh-speaking children on outdoor pursuitactivities using a grant from Gwynedd Councilmade him realise that there was a gap for theprovision of outdoor pursuit activities throughthe medium of Welsh.

Following a community meeting and thecollection of 2,000 signatures backing theventure, AS was born.

Business locationLlechwedd Slate Caverns, Blaenau Ffestiniog LL41 3NB

Main business activityProvision of mountain bike trails anduplift service; tourism and communitycentre including gallery.

Size of business15-20 staff.Turnover of £380,000 in 2016, facilitated by investment of over£500,000 since 2007.




Financial profileTo begin with Antur ‘Stiniog wasentirely grant dependent. Initialfunding was received to train staff inleading outdoor activities. SecuringEuropean funding to develop themountain bike trails has since createdan asset that generates a reliableincome. It has allowed the company to become financially sustainable,expand their business activities andmove away from grant dependency.The last financial year saw ASgenerate a turnover of £380,000.A combination of grants and loansallowed Antur ‘Stiniog to developtheir second centre in 2013. Thisincluded a £215,000 loan from theWCVA and a £81,000 investmentthrough Cyfenter, an ERDF-fundedsocial business support schemedelivered in North Wales, with matchfunding of £37,200 from CartrefiCymunedol Gwynedd and Magnox.

More recently, an interest free loanfrom SE Assist was secured to developa new project.

facilities, and a bike-wash andmaintenance service. The upliftservice, which users pay to use, is the key source of income.

Following the bike trails’ success,there has been a burst of outdoorpursuit activities in the area. Thesehave been developed by the privatesector and include Zip World, BounceBelow, Zip Below, Go Below and SurfSnowdonia.

People profileAntur ‘Stiniog employ 15-20 peoplethroughout the year, mostly on a part-time/seasonal basis, in line with thenature of the outdoor tourism sector.A strong emphasis rests ondeveloping the workforce, offeringtraining and personal developmentopportunities.

The Board is made up of ninevolunteer members and together with the management team receivedextensive support through SocialBusiness Wales.

Antur ‘Stiniog is a not for profit socialenterprise and a company limited byguarantee. It uses commercial meansto achieve social objectives. Thepurpose of the company is to developand fulfil the potential of the outdoorsector in the Ffestiniog area in asustainable and innovative way for the benefit of residents and the localeconomy.

Antur ‘Stiniog aims to realise theirvision through the services providedat two centres – a downhill bike trackcentre and a centre in the town. Thetown centre location reinstated atourist information centre, which hadclosed in 2010, and includes a shopand a gallery.

Opened in 2012, the downhill biketracks, which are regarded by manytop riders as some of the finest inEurope, are the company’s mainasset. The downhill bike track centreincludes an on-site shop with an offerof biking gear and own brandedclothes. This is complemented by acafé, changing rooms and shower


Antur ‘Stiniog is a not for profit socialenterprise and a company limited byguarantee. It uses commercial means toachieve social objectives.


All staff live within a 5-10-mile radiusof Blaenau. The mountain bike centrebrings in around 12,000 to 15,000visitors each year, including manyrepeat customers who value thespecific activities on offer. Antur‘Stiniog organise large events and host the British Downhill Series everycouple of years, which brings in 3,000people each time. They also organiselocal events on the trails. This providesa real boost to local businesses,particularly accommodation providers.Re-opening the information centrethat had closed in 2010, before theburst of outdoor activities took place,was important to ensure visitors areaware of the local offer, includingaccommodation, and other activitiesetc.

translates into a shared vision and the drive to secure growth for thebenefit of the town. All projects have a clear community benefit rationaleand the two centres act as hubs foremployment and community activity.

Blaenau Ffestiniog had been indecline for many years and a poorimage of the town was a real obstaclein delivering regeneration andcreating new vibrancy. Regenerationinvestment had been made in publicrealm improvements, and a numberof schemes had sought to nurturemore confidence and create newopportunities, but more was neededto turn the community around.

The downhill bike centre has createdemployment opportunities with astrong focus on the Welsh language,attracted private investment, andcreated a new vibrancy in the towncentre, bringing in visitors andbuilding the area’s reputation foroutdoor pursuit activities.

Growth trajectory andcommunity impactAntur ‘Stiniog have grown from two part-time workers to employingbetween 15-20 staff today. This hasbeen achieved through reinvestingthe income secured and securingadditional investment to develop new activities to grow the business.

The initial grant investment wasessential to be able to developincome-generating activities andbecome self-sufficient. Generatingown income, however, is important,because it broadens the scope ofactivities and allows them to gobeyond the restrictions that come with grant conditions.

Antur ‘Stiniog was conceived as avehicle for the community to takecontrol of their own future and astrong community ethos remainsintegral to the company. This spirit,created by the directors’ and initialstaff members’ hard work and theirstrong sense of place, is embedded in the company and, to this day,


Antur ‘Stiniog have grown from two part-timeworkers to employing between 15-20 stafftoday. This has been achieved throughreinvesting the income secured and securingadditional investment to develop newactivities to grow the business.



to strengthen AS’s presence inBlaenau Ffestiniog itself rather thanexpanding into other geographicareas.

Instead, the team enthusiasticallyencourages groups from othercommunities to develop similaractivities and share their knowledgeand experience with others. This isbased on the belief, that the drive todevelop successful activities has tocome from within communitiesthemselves for it to be successful.

Antur ‘Stiniog have expanded theirincome generating activities tobecome more sustainable. Thisincludes expanding their marketfurther by continuing to grow the bike trail offer by, for instance,recently opening a blue trail for lessskilled riders. A new trail inNantgwrtheyrn further adds to thevariety on offer for visitors.

In addition, AS’s directors have set-up‘Cynefin a Chymuned’, a group toteach people about the heritage andculture of the area. This is in line withone of the main aims of the company,which is to ensure people are awareand able to make the most from theirheritage.

Competitive position Although Antur ‘Stiniog attractsvisitors from around the world, theirmain target market is North Waleswith most visitors using the downhilltracks coming from within a 2 to 4-hour radius. However, they also attractpeople from further afield, however.Some of the top downhill mountainbikers use the track for training andenjoyment and it is promoted throughshared videos and the relevant mediae.g. UK mountain biking magazines.

With the core commitment todeveloping the local economy, themain emphasis at this point in time is

Despite the positive impactsgenerated in this way, the downhillbike activity is primarily a means ofgenerating income to fund projectsfor the community. The hub in thecentre of Blaenau is regularly used by the local community.

Growth has also allowed Antur‘Stiniog to provide greater trainingand personal developmentopportunities for their staff. Thestrapline is ‘mwynhad, profiad,hyfforddiant a gwaith’ – ‘enjoyment,experience, training and work’ andsummarises their ethos and vision.The company’s main aim is to developlocal people by providingemployment, training opportunitiesand work experience. Staff areencouraged to continually upskill andregularly benefit from training, be thatbike maintenance, kayaking, foodhygiene, health and safety, customerservice and more. Securing reliableincome through trading is designedto provide as much job security aspossible.


With the core commitment to developing thelocal economy, the main emphasis at thispoint in time is to strengthen Antur ‘Stiniog’spresence in Blaenau Ffestiniog itself ratherthan expanding into other geographic areas.


Interaction with localeconomyAntur ‘Stiniog has undoubtedly had apositive impact on the local economy,through direct employment andtraining opportunities for localpeople, investing in infrastructure,attracting visitors to the area,attracting investment from the privatesector, and through supply chainimpacts.

There is a shared understanding in thearea that the initial investmentfacilitated by Antur ‘Stiniog spurredthis activity; private investment wouldhave been much less likely withoutthem proving the potential foroutdoor pursuits in the area. Thehotspot for outdoor pursuit activitythis has created has strong visibility,with Zip World and Go Below receivinga specific mention in the context ofLonely Planet’s ‘Best in Travel list’ for2017 and North Wales being named as the fourth best region to visit in the world.

outright competition, however, theiractivities complement Antur ‘Stiniog’sown offer as they add up to a broaderrange of destinations for visitorsspending their holiday in the area. Inaddition, Bike Park Wales works in asimilar area, but offer a different typeof bike trails and experiences.

In terms of the town centre offer, AS takes care to focus on goods andservices, such as their own brandedand specialist outdoor clothes, thatare not available from other localoutlets. The gallery, for instance, wasopened in the knowledge that thedisplay and exhibition space at thelocal library is fully booked a year inadvance, an indication of sufficientdemand to accommodate thegallery’s additional offer. It has beenan important consideration for Antur‘Stiniog in all their growth activities,that the developments don’t taketrade away from local businesses, but complements them instead.

The fact that mountain biking is verydependent on weather-conditionsand that Blaenau depends onseasonal tourism is a key challenge forAS’s success. In order to make betteruse of its assets during quiet periods,a gallery and café was added to theactivities delivered at the centre inorder to attract visitors over the wintermonths too.

The company, overall, is self-sufficientwith the success of the bike trailcentre making up for any shortfalls inthe town-based centre. There areplans to develop additional outdooractivities to be delivered from thetown-based centre, including walking,bush craft and a range of otheractivities.

The only relatively local competitionfor their biking centre is theRevolution Bike Park in Llangynog andOneplanet Adventure at Llanbegla,both of whom are within a couple ofhours’ distance. Rather than being




took advantage of the increasedvolume of visitors to set-up a newbunk house.

Having received extensive supportduring the start-up and earlydevelopment stages, the AS foundernow also proactively shares theknowledge and experience gainedwith a wider group of socialbusinesses in the area. In addition, AS has worked in collaboration withthe Outdoor Partnership1 andGwynedd Council as part of theSnowdonia One Big AdventureProject, a £4 million package ofEuropean funding aimed at improvingoutdoor activity centres inMeirionnydd that aspire to increasecommunity involvement in this sectorand to bring it closer to the heart ofthe community.

This investment has thus created avibrant tourism sector, proving to be a real stimulus for the economy. Thebiking centre is a mile out of town, butmost customers will use local servicesincluding accommodation. Antur‘Stiniog provides a list ofaccommodation providers on theirwebsite free of charge and officialdata from Gwynedd Council showsthat visitor spend has increased from£0.21 per head in Blaenau Ffestiniog in 2007 to around £15 today.

Wherever possible, Antur ‘Stiniog buyas locally as possible; the café sellslocal ice cream and coffee, Seren,another local social enterpriseprovides their branded merchandiseand local companies werecommissioned for all construction andarchitectural work and a local plumber

Antur ‘Stiniog delivered what hasbeen described as the initial ‘proof ofconcept’ investment that kick-startedthe outdoor pursuit activities inBlaenau Ffestiniog. This has createdan incentive for private investmentwhich now adds up to a diverse‘adventure capital’ offer. Most notably,Zip World was opened in Llechwedd in2014 and have since added variousinnovative high-profile activities totheir offer (e.g. Bounce Below, ZipBelow). Go Below and Surf Snowdoniaalso opened in recent years and GoApe in Llanrwst further rounds off theoffer. Conwy County’s EconomicGrowth Strategy for 2017-2027references an impact studysuggesting that Zip World alone hasgenerated £120 million for the localeconomy and created 200 new jobs.


This investment has thus created a vibranttourism sector, proving to be a real stimulusfor the economy. The biking centre is a mileout of town, but most customers will uselocal services including accommodation.

1 http://www.outdoorpartnership.co.uk/

Local, fairer, stronger: social businesses creating growth...

Documents

Transcript of Local, fairer, stronger: social businesses creating growth...