Olympian gets regional fund backing

The Finance for Business North East Angel Fund has invested £150,000 in a new product that is aiming to turn the global horseshoeing world on its head.

The GluShu, is billed as a non-intrusive glue-on horseshoe created by Jeff Newnham - a member of the London Olympics 2012 equestrian team - and John Wright, a design engineer with a BA from St Martins, London.

Newnham, whose business is based on Gateshead’s Team Valley, said: “There is a growing movement away from nailed on shoes. GluShu promotes natural horsemanship and addresses one of the main industry challenges, severe damage to the horse’s feet caused by nailed on shoes.

“Our ambition is to become an internationally recognised brand at the forefront of the movement and the investment will assist us in reaching out to this growing market”.

Natalia Blagburn, of Rivers Capital Partners, which manages the North East Angel Fund, said: “We are very excited to back the Team Valley based venture.

“The patented GluShu concept is a unique alternative to the traditional nailed on horse shoe and has already been warmly received by horse owners and the farrier community. The team has already appointed a distributor and our investment will help them accelerate acquisition of the customer base throughout the UK.”