Innovation Fund clothing company shortlisted for two business awards

Monday 12 November 2018

A high-visibility clothing specialist, which received a “significant” loan from the ill-fated Innovation Fund, has been shortlisted for two prestigious business awards.

Proviz Sports has been shortlisted for the British Small Business Awards and The Amazon Growing Business Awards.

Set up by Jersey-born co-founders Rupert (pictured) and Anthony Langley-Smith in 2008, Proviz has become an international award-winning sports brand, distributing in 40 countries.

Video: A promotional film for Proviz.

The British Small Business Awards aims to celebrate leaders in the small business community. This year, Proviz Sports were shortlisted in the 'Micro Business of the Year” category, which is awarded to a company with up to nine employees that has demonstrated strong revenue growth and a product or service of a quality that stands above competitors. 

Proviz are also in the running for the 'Micro Business of the Year' prize in the Amazon Growing Business Awards, which particularly focuses on small and medium size enterprises.

The news comes as Proviz celebrates its 10th anniversary. In honour of the landmark birthday, Proviz is relaunching its website across the UK, the United States of America, Australia and Germany to help support the introduction of new products to their range.

The company previously received a “significant” loan from the Innovation Fund, which was initially created to stimulate new business in the island. It was suspended after one of the companies involved with the fund - an IT enterprise called Logfiller - disappeared from the island without having paid back their taxpayer-funded loan, sparking a police investigation that remains ongoing.

States officials last revealed to Express that some money was finally recuperated from Logfiller last month, but refused to state exactly how much. They described the sum as "modest."