Off the dial
Everyone in business knows that it’s often the simplest ideas that prove the most successful and enduring. “If only I’d thought of that”, is a popular refrain among would-be entrepreneurs. “If only I’d backed that deal”, is another you might hear from corporate financiers who missed out on the money.
That said, the latter group often have the nose for the deal in the end. It’s a telling fact that a good many businesses that have been profiled in our annual ranking of the fastest growing firms in the Midlands have gone on to be the subject of considerable corporate activity. Just take the example of those Icelandic raiders Baugur, which, with the help of Midlands advisers, recently snapped up two of our entries this year – jeweller Goldsmiths and specialist food retailer Julian Graves.
Or the example of logistics group Palletways, recently subject to a management buy-in led by former TNT executive James Wilson who invested in the business alongside Phoenix Equity Partners. Like a few others in our list, the company is now focused on developing its pan-European network.
This is all part of the appeal of our ranking, which probes into the world of Off the dial privately-run businesses and picks out the names to watch. Quite often, precisely because they have got where they are with no publicity, companies we approach to profile politely tell us where to go. However thankfully agood number are always willing to speak to us to make our feature more than just a list of numbers.
Going back to our earlier point about the simplest ideas, we couldn’t have a more fitting number one this year than Shire Leasing. Founded in 1990, the business is built on the concept that small firms simply prefer to pay small regular sums in lease charges over an agreed period, rather than spend hard-earned capital on an outright purchase. How simple is that?
Outsourcing remains a big driver behind the growth of many of our companies too. Take our number four, Thermal Energy Construction, which provides a niche construction, repair and maintenance service to the power generation, petrochemical, manufacturing and process industries.
And how about urban regeneration? You might think it was the last place to make money, yet Concept Development Solutions has done just that by going into areas where “others fear to tread”. Another area where few might want to tread is the provision of services to the homeless – yet it has meant a top ten ranking for Nottingham’s Framework Housing Association too.
And there’s even money to be made in football if you look hard enough. Birmingham City get into our top 30 and prove that it is possible for Premiership clubs to balance the need to spend for onfield success with the need for a robust business plan.
And old habits die hard too. While you might think the internet was by now allconsuming, well it isn’t quite yet. Kwik Travel makes our list by virtue that its main route to market remains Teletext, not our beloved internet.
