Sugar Shops business plan

A SCHEME to help young business hopefuls follow in the footsteps of entrepreneur Lord Alan Sugar is under way in Kirklees. While not everyone has been as lucky as Huddersfield’s Andrew Tindall – who has made it through to Lord Sugar’s final 12 candidates in TV’s The Apprentice – Kirklees Council is aiming to give a helping hand to some other would-be tycoons. Business-minded young people are invited to apply to trade rent-free in Huddersfield’s Queensgate Market in the three weeks leading up to Christmas. The stalls have been labelled Sugar Shops, in reference to the market trading beginnings of Lord Sugar’s business empire. Two pitches are available each week and those selected get to test out their business ideas and products for real during the year’s busiest trading period. The idea was suggested by the council’s own Young Employee Network, chaired by 23-year-old Lucy Bye. She said: “We started to think about what the council could do to help young people who might be considering setting up their own businesses and came up with the idea of Sugar Shops, inspired by Lord Sugar’s own early entrepreneurial experiences.” The invitation is open to anyone aged 28 or under. Cabinet member for investment and housing, Clr Peter McBride, said: “I am delighted that the council is supporting the Sugar Shop scheme suggested by some of our own young employees. We’re keen to do all we can to help young people find alternative routes into the workplace. This is a great opportunity for budding young entrepreneurs to set up a test shop in the market in the run up to Christmas – and an experience which certainly didn’t do Alan Sugar any harm!”

Application forms can be downloaded at www.kirklees.gov.uk/sugarshops