Supplying superfast broadband to over 1200 commercial and residential clients in the Scottish Borders, Dumfries and Galloway and North Northumberland areas, Borderlink Broadband was founded in 2017 after managing director Alex Cacciamani found an issue with broadband speeds in the area.

By utilising his advancements in wireless technology, Mr Cacciamani was able to improve his broadband speeds from 1Mbit/s to 100Mbit/s and following this, it didn’t take long for the local neighbourhood to look to him for help in achieving similar connection speeds.

Identifying a gap in the market for a business of its kind due to the increase in demand for Superfast Broadband, Mr Cacciamani worked as a sole trader growing Borderlink Broadband from his family home in the Scottish Borders to a business which now employs over 20 members of staff.

Three years on from the business’ inception and with two awards under their belt including ‘Innovation in Business’ and ‘High Growth/Turnover Business of the Year’, Mr Cacciamani was keen to expand the business further and decided to apply for loan funding to aid Borderlink Broadband through this growth period.

Supporting small and medium-sized businesses across Scotland with loans to start-up or grow, Business Loans Scotland (BLS) offer loans from £25,000 to £100,000 to ensure that commercially viable proposals do not fail from a lack of access to finance.

Fully funded through the Scottish Growth Scheme and European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), BLS has issued loans to 45 businesses across Scotland to date totalling in excess of £2.9 million.

Alex Cacciamani said: “We are absolutely delighted to secure the loan from BLS as it will allow us to expand and grow the company in the right direction, while also providing a great and much-needed service to the people of Scotland, who have perhaps been left behind by major UK broadband providers. I would absolutely recommend BLS to any start-up or new company looking to grow through capital investments.”

With funds now in place, the team at Borderlink Broadband look forward to increasing their offering into new areas including South Lanarkshire and urban cities and also plan to double their workforce by the end of 2020 to support the expansion.

Andrew Dickson, fund manager of Business Loans Scotland, added: “I am delighted that Business Loans Scotland has issued Borderlink Broadband with a £100,000 loan to support the business in achieving their growth ambitions.

“This is a key example of how many SMEs can experience a funding gap and so being able to provide the essential finance to allow these Scottish businesses to flourish is what we strive to do. I look forward to watching the business prosper and to seeing many more domestic and commercial customers turning to Borderlink Broadband for their telecommunications needs.”