Pictured: Caroline Whittock, Identidot Director and Tony Wood, BCRS Business Development Manager

A Walsall based DNA security coding company has become one of the first businesses to benefit from the recently created Walsall Business Loan Fund.

Identidot Director, Caroline Whittock, received a loan of £12,500 from the loan fund created exclusively to help Walsall businesses that are unable to obtain finance from banks. The fund was officially launched by Walsall Council in conjunction with the Black Country Reinvestment Society (BCRS) in July 2011.

Identidot is a service company specialising in helping clients protect and identify the whereabouts of valuable and valued possessions. A loan application was made to help finance an extension of their existing services a DIY - Identidot Home Contents Coding Kit. Designed for up to 50 items, the kit includes everything a home owner needs to securely code and record items in their possessions in a bespoke Asset Management software package. Recording items in the event of fire, flood, theft or simply insurance renewal.

In the event of a theft Identidot's stolen register is available for distributing the information to the relevant search agencies making the stolen item too hot to handle. 

Established in 1999, Identidot was born from a very personal experience. While living in the vicinity of Portobello Market, Caroline's home was broken into and the majority of her personal possessions stolen. It was a very hard and frustrating period especially if any of the items had been found how could she categorically identify them? Use of the DNA eliminates this problem.

Caroline Whittock said: "It was one of the most upsetting periods of my life. To have your possessions taken and then have to fight tooth and nail to get them back, knowing that the police had very little to go on to trace and identify them only what she was able to tell them at the time. That's where the idea of the DIY Home Contents Coding Kit came from. I wanted to create a system where people could mark their items using our unique DNA coding fluid and also record the details of their assets. The coding fluid is invisible & cannot be seen so it cannot be removed".

Identidot has provided its "state of the art" security coding service to some of the country's most prestigious private and corporate collectors. These include Tewkesbury Abbey, Castle Howard, Leeds Castle and Glyndebourne to name but a few. However, Identidot's services are equally pertinent to collections and possessions of more modest proportions, which are of course no less significant to their owners.

Employing 8 people, Identidot prides itself on providing a portfolio of services to help secure, insure and manage customer's most treasured possessions.

"We found it very difficult to gain finance in the beginning for the Home Kit. Unfortunately our Bank was very slow in getting back to us at the various stages of our application and we wanted to get this new concept up and running. After a number of weeks our application for funding was turned down and we were back to square one.

"That is when we approached BCRS. I have had a great deal of help and support from them and their Business Development Manager, Tony Wood, always kept us up to date with the progress of our application and the money was with us very quickly. This loan has given our business a tremendous boost and I can't thank them enough."

The Walsall Business Loan Fund is managed by BCRS and loans of between £10,000 and £50,000 will be made available, but only to viable Walsall businesses already turned away by main stream lenders.

Councillor Adrian Andrew, Walsall Council deputy leader and cabinet member for regeneration, said that it was a key mission for the public sector to create and safeguard jobs. "This loan fund is all about providing Walsall's business talent with the support it needs. It is fantastic news that Identidot has been able to benefit from its creation and I can only hope that other local businesses are aware of this opportunity for access to finance and get in contact."

Paul Kalinauckas, Chief Executive of BCRS, said: "The Walsall Business Loan Fund is a great opportunity for small businesses to gain access to finance when they need it.  BCRS will aim to give a quick response through our fast track online application facility at www.bcrs.org.uk.