J.P.Pozzi - the family’s award-winning Buckie newsagent, gift shop and coffee shop - and its sister company Bijou by the Sea – its Buckie seaside café - have been backed by HSBC UK to help to sustain them while the coronavirus forces the hospitality and non-essential retail industries to remain closed.

The funding has allowed the business to launch its first e-commerce site for the shop and café and complete its renovation of the Bijou Elgin coffee shop.

HSBC UK’s backing has allowed the business to put future plans in place to expand Bijou by the Sea’s retail space. It also plans to create a socially distanced outdoor dining area to enable locals and tourists to feel safe when they can dine out again. The expansion will take the café, which sits along the North East 250 driving route, from 75 to 100 seats and plans should be complete ahead of summer 2022.

David Robertson, owner of Pozzi and Bijou by the Sea, said: “While our newsagents has stayed operational in a reduced manner as an essential shop throughout lockdowns, we have felt the effects of a lack of footfall. We’ve had to change our business model and react to the ever-changing situation.

“We’ve invested heavily into the local community over the last 30 years, taking on rundown and even derelict properties and renovating them to bring life back to the high street. The funding from HSBC UK means we are now perfectly placed to rebuild our business in the wake of what we hope is a once in a lifetime event.”

Grant Donald, relationship manager at HSBC UK, added: “Hospitality and retail businesses have had an exceptionally difficult year with the uncertainty that this pandemic has brought. As a bank we’re proud to support the Pozzi Bijou group to help make sure that they can continue to be a key part of the local communities that they serve.”