Newcastle entrepreneur launches a new business

Apr 27 2009 by Mia Hodgkinson, The Journal

TEENAGE entrepreneur Jonathan Grubin spent his 18th birthday launching his new business venture.

The Live Newcastle scheme entitles members to discounts at some of Newcastle’s top shops, clubs, cafes and restaurants by encouraging them to spend more of their money locally.

Though potential members will not be able to join until the summer, Jonathan, from Newcastle, has brought two people into the business and is currently working on signing up local businesses to the scheme.

“I’ve launched quite a few ventures now, but these first few stages before launch are always the most exciting,” he said.

The idea behind Live Newcastle is that during a recession, customers want to spend less without cutting back on quality, while shops and restaurants want to get more customers through their doors.”

The card is a way to boost the North East’s economy, by encouraging members to think of the North East first when spending.

“Over the next few months, we’re going to be persuading the city’s best attractions, restaurants and shops to become Live Newcastle partners, and we’ll be fine-tuning details for our big launch in the summer – oh, and I’ll be sitting my A-levels, of course.”