History / Background

The S J Noble Trust was set up on the initiative of his younger sister, Christina, to commemorate the life and work of Johnny Noble. In 1978 Johnny set up Loch Fyne Oysters with Andy Lane which has grown into an enterprise employing over 100 people locally. The Trust’s aim was to help seed aspirant entrepreneurs wanting to set up or expand their own businesses.

Over the 15 plus years since the trust made its first award we have distributed around £900,000 to more than 200 businesses – several of them more than once. Initially we gave money in the form of grants but now our funding takes the form of an interest free loan with easy repayment terms. That is to ensure we shall have the resources to continue to fund those applicants in the future we judge to have a real chance of succeeding.

We have been fortunate to gain the support of the Kilfinan Trust, as well as the Monument and Moidart Trusts in earlier years. Between them they have significantly increased our financial firepower. As a result we think that, despite the not unreasonable 15% or so who have dropped by the wayside, there are some 500 jobs in the region that we have helped create or sustain. Our hope is to build on these foundations.

Applicants must be based in the current Argyll and the Islands Enterprise area - as displayed above