hands-on engineering life cycle support to various process-led industries.
The group, a former Red Rose Award winner, is made up of three engineering companies, plus a training academy and has a turnover in the region of £25m. Its growth journey has seen the opening of operations in Daresbury in Cheshire, Teesside and Harlow, Essex.
Marketing and CSR director Sophie Addison says: “Our growth journey has an eye on the future.” That future centres on becoming a national company. Sophie adds: “We have a vision and mission to have a presence across the country.”
The group also has ambitious plans for its training academy, which is seen as a vital part of its future plans and in addressing skills challenges. Those plans include offering training externally as well as internally.
Sophie says developing the right culture is central to successful business growth – building partnerships with clients and investing in the workforce through a “people first” approach.
Founded in 2011, Gastronomy Plus is a food and technology company based in Claughton near Lancaster.
The business is behind several well-known premium kitchen equipment and culinary tool brands ranging from specialist knives to artisan wood-fired pizza ovens.
It began life as an importer of other people’s products but its growth journey has seen it expand into manufacturing, following the acquisition of an industrial charcoal oven
business and a company that makes barbecues for outdoor catering.
Today the company has a 30-strong workforce and a £12m turnover. Managing director Alex Shannon says its scaleup journey has been powered by acquisitions and product development.
He adds: “We are also looking at international growth through markets in areas like North America, South Africa and Europe. We have made £400,000 in sales in North America this year alone.”
Alex has a target of becoming an £18m turnover business in three years’ time. “It is achievable,” he says. “The biggest driver of growth for us has been moving into manufacturing.
“When it comes to overseas sales, having that ‘Made in Britain’ tag is a great advantage.”
He says bank funding and support has been an important part of the growth the company has seen and adds: “It has been a really enjoyable journey so far and we are not finished yet.”
A Blackpool online competitions company which appeared on Dragons’ Den has seen spectacular growth, with its team focused on driving the business to even greater heights.
Founded in 2016, Elite Competitions has grown into one of the leading online prize draw competitions businesses in the UK from its base in Bispham.
Managing director Alex Beckett, who created the business, has eyes on hitting £1bn in turnover
Sophie Addison
over the next five years, as it works to become the market leader in its sector. He puts its growth so far down to the highly motivated team he has pulled together and a culture centred on their buy-in to the company’s vision.
Alex says: “Everyone is engaged in what we are looking to achieve. It’s about having that mindset to succeed and to be part of something special. That is the culture we work to create, that if they put in 100 per cent to the business, we will give them more.”
Nick Comer, chief executive of Rosetta Brands, an e-commerce business based in Nateby and one of the north’s fastest growing companies, says the most important quality of a scaleup leader is delegation.
He adds: “Scaling is all about taking away the bottlenecks.”
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