About FindABrit

I wanted an easier way to find British businesses when I actually wanted to buy British. Not just the big names everyone already knows, but independent shops, tradespeople, family businesses, farmers, makers, manufacturers and the thousands of other people running businesses across the country.

Finding them shouldn’t be difficult. Quite often, it is.

Search online for almost anything and you’re faced with sponsored results, enormous marketplaces, national chains and companies from all over the world. There are some brilliant British businesses out there, but unless you already know their name, you might never come across them.

That’s where FindABrit came from.

Why support British businesses?

For me, it’s about more than where something was bought.

When you use a local tradesman, buy from an independent shop or order something from a small British maker, you’re supporting somebody building a business here. You’re helping support jobs, families and communities, while giving smaller businesses a fighting chance against companies with vastly bigger budgets.

There are also things worth holding on to.

Our high streets, family businesses, skilled trades, farms, traditional crafts and British manufacturing are all part of the character of this country. Once some of these things disappear, getting them back isn’t easy.

Nobody is going to be told where they should spend their money. FindABrit simply exists for those of us who would like to support British businesses a little more often and want an easier way of finding them.

What is FindABrit?

At its heart, FindABrit is a curated British business directory.

You’ll find everything from builders, plumbers and mechanics to independent retailers, accommodation, food producers, online sellers, professional services, manufacturers and British makers.

Some businesses serve their local community. Others operate across Britain or entirely online.

Businesses apply to join FindABrit and applications are reviewed before they’re accepted. The aim isn’t to list absolutely everybody. It’s to build a useful directory of businesses that belong here and give people who want to support British businesses somewhere worthwhile to look.

The long-term aim is simple. When you need something and would prefer to support a British business, I want FindABrit to be somewhere worth looking first.

Quality over quantity

I don’t want FindABrit to become one of those directories containing thousands of abandoned listings, spam and businesses nobody has checked.

Businesses are reviewed before they’re accepted, and listings are reviewed before they’re published. Businesses that aren’t suitable for FindABrit, no longer meet our requirements or abuse the site can be refused or removed.

That doesn’t mean FindABrit personally guarantees or endorses every business, product or service listed. Customers should always make their own checks before handing over their money.

I’d simply rather build a smaller directory people can actually use than boast about having the biggest number of listings.

This is only the beginning

FindABrit is new and there’s plenty still to build.

As the site grows, I want to add more businesses, more locations, useful guides, business spotlights and articles about British business, industry, communities and the things we still do rather well in this country.

But I don’t want growth simply for the sake of bigger numbers. The aim is to build something genuinely useful for both the public and the businesses that choose to be part of it.

A lot of that growth will hopefully come from the people using it.

If you know a brilliant British business, tell people about it. If you run one yourself, apply to join. And if you believe in what we’re trying to build, spread the word.