Any reccomendations I should point there way…

Don't wanna spend a fortune, as they may not like it 😳 ❓ 😐

Cheers//

I'm sure you'll find someone with an old Rockhopper, that you can buy from them for a couple of hundred.

Ace bike. Pick a basic one up cheap, and if they like it, easy to upgrade everything into an excellent bike

Another vote for a rockhopper

Yep, look for something on here secondhand, can't go wrong with a rockhopper or similar from a decent brand.
Get someone "in the know" to have a look out on the classifieds and reccomend when something turns up.

ive got a mongoose tyax elite 2008 if thats any use. see here

I h8 to say it but Halfrauds are doing thier carrera vulcans with extra discount online down from 299 to about 210, or were a couple of weeks ago. Nice looking boxy frames, suntour lockout forks, mechanical disks (urrrg), sram4 etc. About as minimum as I'd go but can't argue with the price.

If you want to be a bit more adventurous a cheap build around an onone 456 or a merlin malt would give you a decent & upgradeable bike for about £600