Member Article

North East dating entrepreneur tests her metal with new venture

A North East businesswoman who founded a successful dating site has turned her entrepreneurial nous to a very different sector - sheet metal - for her latest ecommerce venture.

Sara Halman-Thompson, who founded dating site iSuki before selling it, has started another online business selling metal to a growing business-to-consumer market.

A sister enterprise of her family’s steel stockholding business Amerex Ltd, buymetalonline.co.uk will tap a growing market for business and private individuals who require smaller sheets of metal for one-off purposes.

With investment raised from a transport sister company to Amerex Ltd Sara and her brother Ross Halman launched the idea having seen a volume of enquiries to Amerex that were too small for the company to fulfil.

In the past customers who wanted metals would need to visit a local stockholder and buy a standard 8 ft by 4ft sheet, but the Halman’s idea aims to cater for a niche in the market.

Sara explained: “There are so many people out there who only need a small piece of material to make repairs to their car body or house, for example.

“The unnecessary expenditure and effort of buying a full sheet, storing what’s left – and possibly never using it – is now averted with buymetalonline.co.uk. We save you time and money as you can buy any size of sheet metal you need, quickly and easily, cut to length with no minimum order. We then deliver it direct to your door.

“As the second generation in a family business, with over 30 years serving the industry, my brother Ross Halman and I recognised a gap in the market and the need for an online site catering to the needs and demands of customers today.”

Sara says the site has seen a surge in orders since launching three weeks ago and are already looking to employ two members of staff, with further growth expected from there.

Currently buymetalonline.co.uk serves the UK but Sara plans to open up the business to an international market.

Amerex Ltd was founded by Sara’s father Eddie Halman in 1979 and has grown from a small steel trading business into a multi-service steel centre.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Tom Keighley .