To coincide with Lancashire Day, several of the county’s most successful businesses took part in BusinessCloud’s latest roundtable, in association with Boost.
Several of the panellists – including James Cole, Derry Green and Stephen Turner – have previously worked with Boost and spoke about the support they’ve received.
Although the roundtable was largely a celebration of all things Lancashire, a number of the business leaders called for further collaboration between companies.
The event was hosted by Chris Maguire, executive editor of BusinessCloud.
You don’t need to be based in London
Niall Ratcliffe is the CEO of Burnley-based marketing agency noticed.
Ratcliffe, who runs the startup with his brother Morgan, said: “My perception has changed – there are lots of great businesses outside of London and Manchester. I used to think that you would have to be in one of those two areas to get any sort of support.
“We’ve brought in Dominic McGregor (co-founder of Social Chain) as a mentor and his experience has been invaluable as he has led us on a successful path that has helped us to grow.”
Don’t worry about Manchester
Nigel Eastham is the founder and CEO of Sustainability Yard, a free app which allows users to buy, sell or give away spare building materials that would otherwise go to landfill.
He said: “We’ve got some great ideas and fantastic people – we just need to keep everything moving forward.
“There’s always going to be that feeling that Greater Manchester is doing more but that’s just a default setting for people in Lancashire, with that area being pretty much the second capital.”
Lancashire would benefit from having a ‘figurehead’
James Cole is the CEO and founder of Chorley-based Panache Cruises, which employs 58 staff in Chorley and eight in the US.
The latest turnover for the growing business was £22.2m, but the plan is to hit £100m by 2030.
He said his business had benefited hugely from Lancashire County Council’s Rosebud Finance and wants to see the public and private sectors work closer together.
“Lancashire offers a lot to businesses,” explained Cole. “Andy Burnham is a great figurehead for Greater Manchester. We don’t have anyone who is a figurehead in Lancashire and it would be great to find a person to bring businesses together.”
Targeting growth
Daniel Atherton is the director of Chorley-based Inleaf, which helps designers, architects and clients create amazing spaces with plants.
Atherton said: “The challenges in running a successful business tend to get more nuanced once you’re past that ‘survival stage’.
“We run Inleaf successfully and are reinvesting profits, but we may want to look at getting some external help as it may be beneficial and aid further growth.”
Collaboration is key
Laura Leyland is the co-owner and managing director of Chorley-based recruitment partner Fresh Perspective Resourcing and wants to see more collaboration between businesses.
She said: “Being a managing director can be a lonely place. If I could go back in time and tell myself one thing, it would be to stress the importance of building a network and a community to support each other earlier on in my business journey.”
More than just profits
Derry Green is the owner and founder of The Secret Garden Glamping, a business that he set up during lockdown in 2020.
The multi-award winning site is located in Skelmersdale and the Lancashire-based businessman shot to fame on Dragons’ Den, when he received investment offers from four different Dragons.
However he admitted he wouldn’t be where he is if he hadn’t gone to an event held by West Lancashire Borough Council, which was attended by Boost; Lancashire’s Business Growth Hub as well as Access to Finance Lancashire.
He said: “Everyone at this table wants to do the same sort of thing. We’re focused on ethics, looking after our people and we don’t want to rip people off, which is a big selling point for Lancashire.
“It’s really important to focus on not being completely profit-driven, you want to know where and who your money is going to.”
More networking
Alison Schmid is the co-founder and director of Palatine-backed digital healthcare partner Redmoor Health and would like to see more support for companies that employ between 15-50 people
She said: “I want to echo the statements regarding more networking. Most likely, we could’ve learnt from other businesses (in the area) which may have helped us to avoid some of the mistakes that we made early on.”
Extra training needed
Paul Bailey is the owner of Morecambe-based Optimum RX Group, which supplies and manufactures lenses and lens coatings.
He said: “We need some external help on how to train our managers.
“Most haven’t got experience outside of their current role. We need to know how to get them to improve because they aren’t just going to get it from within Optimum.
“The great plus for Lancashire is the people and their honesty. Everyone seems to pull together.”
We need more space
Emma Russell is the managing director of holiday specialists Alfa Travel, which is an Employee Ownership Trust (EOT).
She said there’s a shortage of suitable buildings to buy. “We would like to own a premise in the area rather than renting one,” she added. “We’re bursting out of our current space!
“We’d never dream of moving away from Lancashire – I’ve been here my whole life.”
Celebrate success
Stephen Turner is the chairman of Group55, which is a private label personal care, pet care and home care product manufacturer.
Turner founded the company in 1999 with just £700 and now has around 100 employees and a turnover of c.£20m. He has received support from Boost.
He said: “Lancashire business is really strong. As a people, we are really determined and hard-working and that goes through all the workforce.
“There are outstanding businesses out there which could be celebrated more. There’s nothing wrong in Lancashire, but it could be better.”
Going the extra mile
Andrew Leeming is the senior project officer at Lancashire County Council and played a lead role in creating and launching Boost in 2013.
He said: “One of the biggest take-outs from today is that businesses want to network, collaborate and learn from each other.
“As part of the Boost Growth Catalyst and Scale to Thrive services, there are peer networks, which are about getting groups to talk to each other about their businesses. We also have business support programmes for companies at different stages of their journey, helping them to start, grow and scale as well as find the right finance to support their growth.
“Genuine support is about people supporting each other. As long as people have the mindset of wanting to listen, learn and also help each other, we can facilitate environments which maximise those opportunities and help Lancashire companies to grow.”