Business coaches get quote on Plus Market
A company which coaches Oldham’s young offenders in entrepreneurial skills is about to join Plus, the junior exchange.
Winning Pitch Plc delivers sales and business growth training, mainly through public sector agencies, and aims to expand organically and through acquisition.
Based in Moston, north Manchester, the company was founded by business coach and author John Leach. He has recently been joined by Ian Brookes, a former director of IT services group Lorien Pc, who has taken a 50 per cent stake.
Wilmslow based Acorn Corporate Finance, which has strong links with a number of high net worth individuals, isnow seeking equity investors to put £3m.
Between 60-70 percent of revenue comes from Business Link or local authorities for research work or programmes like the one for Oldham’s wayward youths.
Managing director Brookes said: “The psychological profile of an entrepreneur is very similar to an offender. One does it legally and the other does it illegally.”
He said shows like Dragons Den had made more people aspire to run their own businesses and public agencies wanted to nurture this.
Leach, a former University of Manchester research chemist who worked for a number of science based start ups before coming a management consultant, said the aim was a 60/40 revenue split in favour of the public sector.
“Its softer end of the regeneration,” said Leach “New buildings help energise an area but you have to fill those buildings with businesses that are going to grow and build wealth.”
seperate
Leach and Winning Pitch had achieved transformational performance and sales growth for companies but has a rule of always walking away if it can’t help. The Plus application says sales have increased from £285,000 in the first 15 months trading to December 31, 2006, to £436,000 in the nine months to September 30. Leach said turnover was on track for £750,000 in the current full year. Staff numbers were expected to grow from 12 to 20 by the end of 2008.
The directors hope the Plus float will send a message to the market that their plans have undergone scrutiny. They have appointed a high profile chairman in Rene Carayole, the broadcaster and business commentator.
Competitors include specialist research company SQW Consulting and training companies like A4e and Pera. “We can disrupt the Consultancy market by doing it differently,” said Brookes.
Winning Pitch has a TV arm making business training videos, which it intends to deliver via the internet. Leach said the website revenue model would involve advertising, sponsorship or subscription.
A video produced for Oldham Economic Partnership includes an interview with the client Chris Popple, managing director of Contained Air Solutions, which makes microbiological safety cabinets. Sales have reached £1.2m since trading began in April. Popple said, “Using people like Winning Pitch is a bit of a sanity check really. You are full of big ideas and going off in different directions, but it gave me a bit of a structure to work around.
It’s a different story at another company in the video. At Promo Leather in Oldham, a message says the office is closed and directs callers to Ashton under Lyne insolvency practitioner Manu Mistry.