Latest news with #ScottishEdge
The Herald Scotland
3 days ago
- Business
- The Herald Scotland
Man jailed for fraudulently selling tea received £50k grant
The 55-year-old made £550,000 from the scheme, with the plants actually imported wholesale from Italy. As reported by The Times, his business was given £50,000 in funding by Scottish Edge, which offers grants and loans to start-up businesses. Read More: Mr Robinson was given the funding after applying in 2015, with the organisation announcing the award to "Scotland's only tea plantation which counts Kensington Palace and Balmoral Hotel as customers". Scottish Edge is funded by the Scottish government, the Scottish Enterprise quango, the Royal Bank of Scotland and the Hunter Foundation. Mr Robinson claimed to have grown tea on farmland in Perthshire and Dumfries and Galloway, but had in fact bought Italian tea from an English wholesaler. Ron McNaughton, the head of the Scottish food crime and incidents unit at Food Standards Scotland, said: "His actions caused real financial and reputational harm to individuals, businesses and a developing sector of genuine Scottish tea producers. This outcome is the result of a complex and painstaking investigation involving a dedicated team at FSS and the co-operation of partner agencies and key witnesses. "It demonstrates that those who set out to mislead consumers and defraud businesses will be held accountable.'
Scottish Sun
3 days ago
- Business
- Scottish Sun
Tea scammer dubbed ‘Tetley Tam' given £50k government grant before £500k swindle
The fraudster was jailed last week for the 'Wee Tea Plantation' dupe IN THE BAG IN THE BAG Tea scammer dubbed 'Tetley Tam' given £50k government grant before £500k swindle Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) A TEA conman dubbed Tetley Tam fooled a Scottish Government-backed quango into handing him £50,000. Thomas Robinson, 55, swindled the start-up grant to help build his fraudulent plantation. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 3 Thomas Robinson before he was jailed last week Credit: Central Scotland News Agency 3 He sold the tea to luxury hotels Credit: Alamy 3 Robinson's victims between 2014 and 2019 included Edinburgh's Balmoral Hotel Credit: Getty We told how he was jailed for 3½ years last week for duping luxury hotels into buying his premium 'Scottish-grown' bought on the cheap from Italy. The fantasist even claimed one brand 'produced' on his Perthshire estate was 'the Queen's favourite'. Now it has emerged Robinson — who brewed up his brazen £550,000 fraud over five years — convinced Scottish Edge to give him a mix of taxpayers and corporate cash to get his dodgy business off the ground. The crook, who claimed in court to have invented the supermarket bag for life and worked for ex-US President Barack Obama's administration, hoodwinked the selection panel with lies. One source said last night: 'He had no shame.' Scottish Edge helps entrepreneurs funded by the Scottish Government, Scottish Enterprise, the Royal Bank of Scotland and the Hunter Foundation. Robinson was awarded the money in 2015 after pitching his The Wee Tea Plantation to judges. The quango's website has an image of him posing and says: 'Winner…The Wee Tea Plantation Limited — £50,000. 'Scotland's only tea plantation which counts Kensington Palace as customers.' Stirling Sheriff Court heard Robinson's victims included Edinburgh's Balmoral Hotel. Harry Styles passionately snogs mystery woman in packed Glastonbury VIP area He also flogged 22,000 plants bought for £3 to Scots growers for £12.50 each. Scottish Edge has been asked for comment.
The Courier
22-05-2025
- Business
- The Courier
Angus agritech entrepreneur among latest Scottish Edge winners
A young agritech entrepreneur from Angus has scooped another £10,000, making it £20,000 in total, in the Scottish Edge competition. Tom Porter, of Carnoustie, started his own business, AgriAudit, on his dad's farm at East Scryne.. Earlier this year he was presented with a £10,000 regional Edge award – part of a Scotland-wide scheme supporting young entrepreneurs – at a ceremony in Dundee. And he's now matched that in the 25th round of Scottish Edge. Tom, 24, was among 35 winners sharing £1.5 million in prize money. His latest prize came in the Young Edge category and was presented at a ceremony in Glasgow. 'Winning the Young Edge award means a lot,' he said, adding: 'It's great to see support for something that's been built from the ground up by farmers, for farmers.' Tom's app is designed to help ease the audit burden on UK farmers and growers. By minimising the time spent searching for, printing and uploading documents, AgriAudit eliminates duplication throughout the audit process. Users can prepare for their audits from a central dashboard, and there is a tracker to monitor progress towards each one. The idea took off after Tom was given responsibility for audits on the family farm. He quickly realised how complex, demanding and time-consuming the task can be. Celebrating his Edge awards, he said: 'This funding has allowed us to crack on with building the AgriAudit web app to compliment the mobile app, as well as add more features. 'We must make audits easier and less of a headache, so farmers can spend less time on paperwork and more time in the field.' The Young Edge scheme, is aimed at Scotland's most promising young entrepreneurs. It is supported by Royal Bank of Scotland, Scottish Enterprise (SE), the Hunter Foundation, and Scottish Government. Meanwhile, the biggest winner at the latest Scottish Edge awards was Vanilla Farms, of Inverurie, Aberdeenshire. It cures and supplies premium-quality vanilla using sustainable, high-tech agriculture. Vanilla Farms received £150,000 for winning the Missions Edge competition category. SE innovation and investment managing director Jane Martin said: 'It will be exciting to see what is next in store for these agritech entrepreneurs.' Tom's dad, James, produces soft fruit as well as potatoes, barley, wheat and beans at East Scryne Farm.
