entrepreneurs 17
Pictures by Angus Thomas
now our core business – it will turn over £35m this year – we rebranded into The PX Partnership in January 2013.
HomeMatch, which we also launched post- recession in 1991, is an innovative service for the corporate relocation market.
It’s a fantastic postcode-based geo-demographic system which enables you to accurately identify and match the value of like-for-like homes in different areas of the country. It was way ahead of its time when we launched it and, if I have one regret, it’s that we have not yet realised its full potential.
How has this latest downturn affected you?
Because we were involved in the property sector, back in 2005 I could see the recession coming. I also knew it could be a time of opportunity, if you
start a business in a recession and it survives, you will be in a great place. When it did arrive, I started looking for opportunities. In 2010, after being told about the business by an employee’s friend, I bought AirPack Protective Packaging, which produces custom-made inflatable AirPacks for fragile goods. We hope to turn over £2m this year and double it year-on-year.
The same year, one of my former bank managers came to see me to help find him a new job. When he told me about a start-up he’d been involved in which had gone into receivership, I could see the potential, so I bought it and made him general manager. Today Air Structures International uses patented rigid air technology to produce inflatable portable football goals and floodlights worldwide. We have a lot of ideas and products in development and believe the technology has huge potential to be really big in both sports and other sectors.
Where does a music business fit into the mix?
Everyone in Newbury will know Hogan Music. Patrick Hogan was a contemporary of mine and we worked together on a young musician award at Newbury Manor. which I owned. We bumped into each other again and he told me about his idea to develop a whole new musical concept in the town centre – a four-storey building with a shop, music academy and outstanding teaching facilities, a repair facility, recording studio and a space for jazz gigs. It’s a really exciting project and off the back of it Hogans has just won the Fender franchise for the region, which is thrilling. We’re just waiting to start work on the refurbishment.
Is there any connection between such a diverse group of companies?
The connection for me is that I simply want to do something that hasn’t been done before. I’m not interested in a “me too” business, if there isn’t
THE BUSINESS MAGAZINE – THAMES VALLEY – JULY/AUGUST 2013
an opportunity for you to be the very best, then don’t do it.
How hands-on are you?
Each company is managed by its own general manager who has the focus and passion necessary for that particular business. I add value through my 30 years’ experience in business, effectively I take a chairman’s role. If they need help or guidance, they come to me – I don’t go to them.
What are you most proud of?
It has to be The PX Partnership. It is the engine at the heart of the group and we hope to grow that business alone to £100m within the next five years. It’s achieved seismic change already and the potential is tremendous.
We have only 39 employees and the group is on target for a £44m turnover this year. I don’t think there is any other business in the Thames Valley which can match those numbers per capita.
Do you ever have any downtime?
I don’t see what I do as work, I see it as a way of life. I love to take my two boys with me when I travel, but the beauty of technology means I can work anywhere and can respond just as quickly wherever I am.
What’s your business motto and where do you see yourself in 10 years’ time?
To make a difference – then move on and make a difference somewhere else. Everything I do is for a reason, I’m very focused and right now it is about making a profit. Ten years from now, when the boys have finished school and university, I want to find the right project to help young people in business achieve their goals. And when I do, that will be not-for-profit – my way of giving something back.
Details:
www.bdzholdings.com www.businessmag.co.uk
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