Special trip to Downing Street for Kendal businesswoman

Marian Graveson, who started offering handmade luxury baking kits under the name 'Blue Moose Kitchen' four years ago, travelled to London to mark Small Business Saturday.

One of just 20 companies on the roll-call, she said that she was 'absolutely delighted' to attend the event.

"I was asked to bring some of my products and set it up so people could talk me about what I did," she said.

"I was the only Cumbrian business there. I was absolutely thrilled to get an invitation to go to Downing Street to represent small businesses."

Celebrating its fifth anniversary, Small Business Saturday takes place on the first Saturday of December. It is the nationwide campaign to support, inspire and promote the UK’s 5.7 million small businesses.

The UK’s small businesses made £717 million on Small Business Saturday in 2016, which was a 15 per cent rise on the previous year according to research by principal supporter, American Express.

Marian, 54, offers a variety of baking kits including ones for brownies, shortbread, gingerbread and pancakes.

She also has gluten-free options and is set to expand into vegan-friendly kits as well.

"I think there are so many small businesses and they employ millions of people," she said, explaining why it was important to get behind them. "They are very important to keep us going in the economy."

Also present at the Small Business Saturday event was Stephen Barclay MP, Economic Secretary to the Treasury, Baroness Fairhead CBE, Minister of State at the Department for International Trade, Claire Perry MP, Minister of State at the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and Caroline Nokes MP, Minister for Government Resilience and Efficiency.

Michelle Ovens MBE, director of Small Business Saturday said: “Small Business Saturday shines a spotlight on our local businesses to show how vitally important they are to individual communities and the UK as a whole."