SUMMIT Licensing in house framework to support clients


SUMMIT is a consultancy in Old Langho that supports businesses to get to the next step on their growth journey. With a team of 10, plus a number of franchisees, the business has a turnover of about £1m.


Using its internally developed framework, called SHERPA, SUMMIT helps businesses to identify what they need to do to achieve their future aspirations and potential.


Director Andy Schofield says: “Three years ago, there was one product in our portfolio that brought about the merger of our companies. We put SHERPA at the heart of any marketing enquiry to draw out the commercial advantage of any company.


“We have recently innovated by licensing SHERPA as a product to any marketing or business professional. This gives them a framework for the discovery process and, importantly, means they are paid for their initial ideas and concepts.


“Too often in the creative industries, and even in finance, there is a tendency to let the client dictate the solution, believing they require a new website or some social media in order to solve a deeper issue. SHERPA helps identify what is at the heart of the problem and is a powerful paid workshop that benefits both parties. We’re on a mission by licensing to stop unpaid discovery.


“By licensing the product we bring associates into the SUMMIT tribe. It is an entry level into our franchise community which also allows us to attract really good people that can deliver our products to a wider audience. It has given us a new focus for this financial year where we have onboarded our first three associates and have a goal to train three more every quarter. This will give us strong sustainable growth into year four.”


PERSONNEL CHECKS New recruitment tactic to support rapid growth


Personnel Checks is a background screening business that helps employers make recruitment decisions, running DBS, right to work, DVLA and identity checks for more than 30,000 organisations and processing more than 150,000 DBS checks a year.


The business overcame recruitment challenges locally by changing the way it sourced staff to support the next stage of its development.


CEO Jack Mellor, who completed a management buyout in 2017, says: “Our biggest innovation wasn’t a product, it was a decision about people. We had resolved to build our own screening platform rather than reselling someone else’s, but the senior technical leadership we needed wasn’t available in Lancashire.


“So we committed to hiring remotely, widening our talent pool to the whole country. That expertise let us build technology. Owning our platform means we improve it constantly, without waiting on a third party. Better people built a better product.


“We operate in a crowded market and we knew being a reseller wasn’t a future proof strategy for growing the business. The difficulty was skills availability. We stopped treating location as a hiring requirement. Instead of limiting ourselves to candidates who could commute to the office, we opened senior and specialist roles to remote working, which let us recruit the technical leader who anchored our platform build.


“From there we formalised remote and hybrid working across the business, with new approaches to onboarding, communication and collaboration, and a culture built to keep a distributed team connected.”


Since implementing the change, the business has grown by more than 300 per cent, reaching gross profits of £2.5m and now employing 34 people.


Jack says: “We currently serve more than 30,000 organisations and, by the end of the year, this will have more than doubled thanks to our acquisitions.”


LANCASHIREBUSINES SV IEW.CO.UK Patrons:


Our biggest innovation wasn’t a product,


it was a decision about people. We had resolved to build our own screening platform rather than reselling someone else’s


MGS TECHNICAL PLASTICS Changing processes to unlock business potential


Plastic injection moulding company MGS Technical Plastics may have been around since 1974, but it isn’t standing still. By developing new processes and changing a well established mindset, those innovations have opened the business up to new customers and further growth.


Managing director Judson Smythe says: “We unlocked innovation potential by transforming an in house toolroom into an independent precision engineering business, called MGS Technical Engineering, bringing together skills, technology and automation to accelerate the journey from concept to production.


“The change has enabled us to play a more strategic role in our customers’ projects. With greater in house capability we can collaborate earlier in the development process, offering innovative solutions that balance technical performance, manufacturability and cost. We are no longer constrained by external supply chain limitations, allowing us to respond faster, reduce risk and improve project outcomes.


“This has helped us secure opportunities that would previously have been out of reach, while strengthening customer relationships and creating new avenues for growth.”


MGS Technical Engineering has seen the firm invest in both people and equipment to support its growth as a standalone precision engineering business. It has expanded its team by recruiting skilled toolmakers, while also investing in new vertical machining centres to improve productivity, accuracy and throughput, and CNC turning capability to extend its service offering and increase efficiency.


Judson adds: “Recognising the team’s expertise could serve a wider market, we created an independent operation with its own identity, customers and growth strategy.


“These investments have enabled us to take on more complex work, improve lead times and provide customers with a broader range of precision engineering solutions from a single supplier.”


Celebrate Lancashire Day with the county’s business community!


Date: Friday 27 November 2026 Time: 12.00pm – 5.00pm Venue: Burnley Football Club


• Network with like-minded leaders from businesses of all size and sectors


BOOK NOW Become a patron


Put your business at the heart of Lancashire Business Day.


Show your support for the county and raise your profile across Lancashire’s business community.


Contact Joanne Hindley on 07442 949697 or email joanne@lancashirebusinessview.co.uk.


Brought to you by #LBD26


In association with:


Charity Partner:


29


INNOVATION AND CHANGE


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68  |  Page 69  |  Page 70  |  Page 71  |  Page 72  |  Page 73  |  Page 74  |  Page 75  |  Page 76