A LIGHTING company is looking to expand after receiving business growth support from NStar finance and business.

KLS Lighting Design, which was set up in Newcastle in April, is looking to take on extra staff and boost profits after taking part in a programme run by the firm.

Owner Kristina Simpson took part in two NStar training courses - introducing finance and business, and managing money - and believes that they have given her the necessary business acumen to grow her fledgling company.

KLS has already won several high-profile contracts to supply lighting to Newcastle's Old Coopers Auction House, Rockliffe Hall Hotel, in Darlington, and Middlesbrough Reference Library.

"For someone at the start of this journey, NStar has been hugely beneficial and I cannot praise the courses highly enough.

"The advice received has given me a valuable insight into business finance and stopped me making some of the basic errors I'm sure I would have done, and the courses have given me the confidence to consider recruiting in the future to deal with new business."

Funded by regional development agency One NorthEast, NStar's free one-day courses aim to encourage growth among regional start-ups and small businesses and have been attended by a wide spectrum of businesses since starting earlier this year.

For more information on the free one-day courses available, visit www.nstar financeandbusiness.com