Management KTP (mKTP) funding to drive business growth, support low carbon transition and create jobs

Widnes based Premium kitchen marketplace, Used Kitchen Exchange, in partnership with Liverpool John Moores University, has been awarded a £120,000 government grant that will drive business growth and support the low carbon transition. As part of this expansion, Used Kitchen Exchange is aiming to create over 180 new local jobs over the next five years.

The two-year grant has been awarded through the Management Knowledge Transfer Partnership (mKTP) programme run through Innovate UK, KTN and UK Business Schools on behalf of the Department for Business, Environment and Industrial Strategy (BEIS). The funding will enable the partnership to employ a Masters-level post-graduate as a KTP Associate to manage the project alongside the company and academic supervisors.

Used Kitchen Exchange sells approved pre-owned and ex-display kitchens, making premium quality kitchens available to everyone. By introducing and popularising the concept of buying and selling pre-owned kitchens, its founder, Helen Lord, has been credited with transforming how the kitchen industry thinks about its role in addressing carbon reduction.

By extending the lifetime of a kitchen, Used Kitchen Exchange is able to reduce the environmental impact of the industry and has saved  13,200 tonnes of carbon owing to the 2,200 kitchens repurposed to date. As a result of these efforts, the company is pending the prestigious international Bcorp certification – something only granted to businesses that meet the highest standards of social and environmental purpose.

Mick Card, KTN’s  KTP Adviser for this project, commented: “Management KTPs are one of the most impactful ways in which high growth businesses can support high staff growth and achieve transformative step-change scale-up. I’m particularly pleased to see Used Kitchen Exchange maximising benefits of working with LJMU and wider partners from Innovate UK.”

Find out more about this project here.

Funding competitions for Management KTPs are open throughout the year. You can find out more here.

A webinar briefing about Management KTP runs on Friday 24th July from 10am-11am: click here to register for a place.