Insider Media Limtied

This duo set up FGH in 2003 to provide door supervisers at premises owned by Lancaster University. Since then the company has branched into alarm systems and monitoring, CCTV, mobile security patrols and door staff. Its client list includes the NHS, local councils, Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue and Subway franchises.

The pair most recently caught Insider’s attention on Dragons’ Den, where they secured £100,000 of investment from Peter Jones and Theo Paphitis in return for a 20 percent stake in the company. Harrison told Insider that they are looking to recruit another 50 staff over the next six months and haven’t ruled out making strategic acquisitions. “We operate in a service industry and there's other competition. We're in it for the long-term and want to steadily build our reputation and client base,” says Harrison. The business anticipates it will turn over £3.5m in the year to 31 March 2011 and make a profit of £200,000. It employs 200 staff.

This duo set up FGH in 2003 to provide door supervisers at premises owned by Lancaster University. Since then the company has branched into alarm systems and monitoring, CCTV, mobile security patrols and door staff. Its client list includes the NHS, local councils, Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue and Subway franchises.

The pair most recently caught Insider’s attention on Dragons’ Den, where they secured £100,000 of investment from Peter Jones and Theo Paphitis in return for a 20 percent stake in the company. Harrison told Insider that they are looking to recruit another 50 staff over the next six months and haven’t ruled out making strategic acquisitions. “We operate in a service industry and there's other competition. We're in it for the long-term and want to steadily build our reputation and client base,” says Harrison. The business anticipates it will turn over £3.5m in the year to 31 March 2011 and make a profit of £200,000. It employs 200 staff.

Isap has become known as one of the best-networked businessmen in Manchester. His company, which has been going for 15 years, has traditionally been known for print and promotional materials. If you ever attend Insider’s events, there’s a fair chance you’ve seen the work of MPG on the stand-up banners advertising the event sponsors. Basically, if it moves (or even if it doesn’t move), MPG can put your brand on it. The company, based in Dale Street, has an online catalogue featuring anything from office equipment – mousemats, pads, notebooks, gadgets – to clothing, confectionery, bags and badges. MPG has developed an award-winning data management division in the past few years and won contracts in the construction and property sectors through its visualization and 3D animation arm. The group also includes MPG Legal, a document handling service for lawyers.

Stephenson and his business partner Mark Dent used to run the wine shop across the road at Harvey Nichols before taking the plunge at the start of 2008 with their own operation, Hanging Ditch Wine Merchants, based in one of Manchester’s best small-scale refurbishments, Nikal’s conversion of the Britannic Buildings and Mynshulls House on Cateaton Street. Stephenson called on his father, famous local architect Roger Stephenson, to design a handsome shop, which has a loyal army of customers using it as a cafe as much as a wine shop. Hanging Ditch gets on the front foot, holding regular tasting masterclasses with niche producers from around the world, and a series of dinners held in conjunction with restaurants such as the Circle and Market Street. Its third annual wine festival will be held at Manchester Art Gallery in late October.

Chog Zoo is an animation company run by two friends from Preston. Webster and Jolly set up shop in April 2009 after completing related degrees at the University of Central Lancashire (UCLan) and following their own dream – there isn’t a host of opportunities for animators locally, with only three undergraduate courses running across the UK. Although the duo is not based in UCLan’s Media Factory,Webster credits the incubator with providing valuable support: “We wouldn’t exist if it wasn’t for their help,” he says. The business is a modest size just 18 months in but work is increasing all the time with clients including Lancashire County Council and Velcro. And they are just about to move into offices at the Watermark in Preston – a hub designed for the creative industry. “The ultimate goal is to make our own creative programming,” says Webster. “The corporate contracts pay for us to pursue this.”

Family business Nitecrest specialises in gift, and iPhone apps and builds on a tablet-based ordering system that reflects investment in IT. Tyldesley says: “While many of our rivals are stuck in the cycle of slashing quality to reach the lowest price point, we’re building our business on the back of good-value products that are built to last, and providing the customer with an experience that’s at the cutting edge of modern retailing.” One of his mantras, in the cut-throat sector, is: “The harder you try, the less you sell.”

Anderson and his business partner, Mark Kershaw, launched bespoke catering company Pickled Walnut in 2005. In the past five years they have grown the company to become the caterer of choice for venues including Blackpool Tower, Prestbury’s Hilltop Country House and Peover Golf Course in Cheshire. Anderson was classically trained by michelin star chefs and has worked in a variety of premier hotels and restaurants in Europe. He has also worked for the circus troupe Cirque Du Soleil. Born and raised on Merseyside, the local lad likes to support local suppliers. “We should always look to use local produce and embrace the region’s food heritage. Let’s all do our part in putting British food back on the dinner table.”

Chog Zoo is an animation company run by two friends from Preston. Webster and Jolly set up shop in April 2009 after completing related degrees at the University of Central Lancashire (UCLan) and following their own dream – there isn’t a host of opportunities for animators locally, with only three undergraduate courses running across the UK. Although the duo is not based in UCLan’s Media Factory,Webster credits the incubator with providing valuable support: “We wouldn’t exist if it wasn’t for their help,” he says. The business is a modest size just 18 months in but work is increasing all the time with clients including Lancashire County Council and Velcro. And they are just about to move into offices at the Watermark in Preston – a hub designed for the creative industry. “The ultimate goal is to make our own creative programming,” says Webster. “The corporate contracts pay for us to pursue this.”

Bent, recognised as Cheshire’s Young Director of the Year in the IoD Director of the Year awards, is the third generation of his family to run the business, which was started in 1937 by Alfred and Margaret Bent, who sold roses from their front garden. It is now a £14mturnover operation.

Since 2001, Bent has created initiatives including the £3m Open Skies glasshouse and put together a ten-year plan for the centre. He is also a member of Vistage, the chief executive organisation that specialises in executive leadership development.

Bents, in Glazebury near Warrington,has been crowned the Best Garden Centre for two years now by the Garden Centre Association following an extensive annual audit of more than 160 centres. It has made a shortlist of four for the 2010 title. In 2008 the company was presented with the Tourism Retail Award by Visit Chester & Cheshire.

Fraser, who was appointed as managing director, operations, in 2006, is the youngest member of the executive board of the North West’s only FTSE 100 company. He has worked in utility contracting for 12 years, as a director of Bethell Power Services then as operations director of the regulated wastewater business at United Utilities since 2005. He then became managing director of United Utilities’ energy and contracting services business.

Taking on the giants of entertainment e-commerce is no small task, but that’s what The Hut Group is doing. The group was founded in 2004 by John Gallemore and Matthew Moulding to compete with the likes of Amazon, Play.com and other first-to-market online retailers. They would do this, they said, by allowing their web platform to be scaleable and white label, allowing the company to offer its procurement, marketing and fulfilment services to other retail brands. They have also been snapping up other businesses to bolt on brand and capability. Companies having been lapping this up. Boots was the first to come on board in 2004 followed by Asda, Tesco and then Argos and Woolworths. At the same time the company launched its own e-commerce offerings including thehut.com, which sells DVDs, games, music and books, and famously acquired the URL and database of entertainment retailer zavvi.co.uk from the administrator in 2009. Moulding has grown the company exponentially, increasing turnover from £21m in 2008 to £52.4m last year.

Movetech UK is the new name for British Turntable, which has been solving load moving problems for industry since 1959. The company, based in Bolton, was founded by Tim’s father, John Entwistle, who has recently retired and left Tim in charge. Products include turntables for use in heavy industry or lighting displays; lifting jacks and machinery skates and air film equipment.

Entwistle is a big supporter of Bolton, turning down a move south to stay in the region. “We were going to move to Devon, but we didn’t,” he says. “The skills base in Bolton is great and I can also jump in the car and be with most of my suppliers within an hour.” Clients include large retailers, supermarkets, automotive distributorships and television and film companies.

Tim was a panelist at Insider’s Invest in Bolton breakfast. Click here to read more.

The rapid completion of the new Holiday Inn Express hotel on Manchester’s Oxford Road in the first half of 2010 surprised few in the local property industry. The hotel was finished two months ahead of schedule, indicative of the company’s ability to deliver and its thirst for further work in a sector that has remained active. The brothers from Rochdale founded Russells Construction in 1997 after learning the trade as a quantity surveyor and site manager respectively – and have built a building company with a growing reputation. Russells took over Penrith Construction in 2002 and a housebuilding division, Russell Homes, was launched in 2004. It has done schemes including the Miltons in Cheadle and the Village Green in Wigan. The company works regularly on projects for its sister company, Property Alliance Group, chaired by David Russell. Other wins include a £2.2m contract for Manchester Ship Canal Developments (a joint venture between Manchester City Council and Peel) to build 108 homes at Eastbank in Ancoats; a £2m retail park in Hull; and a £1.5m deal to build an Aldi in North Wales.

Morris leads one of the region’s most familiar businesses. The story of Laterooms.com is well told in regional circles – from selling vacant hotel rooms on the internet in 1999 to its £120m sale to First Choice in 2006, the company has been synonymous with the definition of a growth business. Morris was brought in during 2004 when ECI bought the company for £25m. Coming from a professional services background, and following stints atWedgwood and Airtours, he was responsible for developing the structure of a “very entrepreneurial” business. After the merger of First Choice and Thomson owner TUI Travel, Morris has given the business more clarity under plc ownership and is helping to develop the brand of Asiarooms.com, which was acquired by TUI in September 2009. He says: “I’m not a proper entrepreneur, but I understand how to run an entrepreneurial business.” And the future? “I hate to think this is my one big thing, but it will be for a number of years.”

The son of Travel Counsellors’ founder David Speakman went it at alone in 2003, selling high-end holidays to long-haul destinations. He’s grown Destinology into a £30m-turnover operation with 90 staff in Bolton. “If you are brought up in an entrepreneurial family it’s in your blood to a degree,” he says. “Working with the family business gives you some of that but it’s really all about going out on your own and taking risks.”

The past two years haven’t been easy in the travel industry but Speakman says the company is still growing. He is concentrating on profits and expects to make pre-tax earnings of £500,000 against sales of £32m this year. He also plans to develop a reviews site and expand into the cruise industry. For one so young, he also has a healthy attitude to debt: “We have always been debt-free,” he says. “During the past two years I have seen so many businesses struggle because they are trying to pull back the financing they gave to a company. This makes me more reluctant to take on debt to finance growth.”

The affable but press-shy son of John Timpson, James, has been a director of the family business since 1998. Before going to Durham University, and after graduating,he worked in all areas of the business, from branch manager to area manager. He then joined the ‘Timpson House’ team to help his father grow the business from 118 repair shops in 1987 to its 879 stores, with a turnover of £150m.

They travel the country regularly, visiting shops and staying true to their mantra of upside down management – where the most important people in the business take the money. James has been instrumental in the acquisitions of Mr Minit and Max Spielman. This leftfield approach to running the company has resulted in book deals and newspaper columns for his dad, but James continues to drive the company forward on a day-to-day basis. The recruitment process is also interesting – Timpson recruits many staff from prisons and operates an incentive structure for each shop manager. The key to success? Get rid of all the drongos (nonperformers) in the business and nurture those who bring in the cash.

Intechnica is a software development company in Manchester specialising in making websites perform better. Gidlow formed the company four years ago on the basis that internet sites looked good, but their usability could be improved. The client list is impressive including Asos, Bruntwood, BMI, Nisa-Today’s and Irish Life & Permanent. “What first attracted me to the online world were the limitless possibilities offered by the internet – it felt like a frontier land,” says Gidlow. “Ten years on it still feels new and I am still surprised by the pace of change and innovation.” The early years selling rock and pop event tickets made Gidlow realise the challenges for companies that have massive demand for their product online. “Artists such as Robbie Williams, Madonna and U2 generated 500-fold increases in demand for tickets and the online systems had to be designed to cope,” says Gidlow. He believes that to be successful you have to have passion, be open with your clients and go the extra mile.

Jeremy was a speaker at Insider’s recent breakfast event on cloud computing. Click here to read more.

Laboratory business Envirolab in Hyde and its managing director is something of a hidden gem in the chemical testing world. Providing 24-hour soil and chemical testing services, Envirolab is a part of the Cheshireheadquartered RSK Group, the UK’s largest privately owned environmental consultancy and one of the fastest-growing companies of its kind in Europe. RSK’s profile has been growing since it bought out a minority shareholding held by US company ENSR (a part of Fortune 500 engineering giant AECOM) in December 2006.

Since that deal, staff numbers have soared from 300 to 850, and RSK’s scope for turnover has been substantially enhanced by ten strategic acquisitions, the creation of six new companies and a sustained period of robust organic growth. Investing in Envirolab is an important part of RSK’s strategy to become the UK’s leading “one-stop shop” for environmental support services.

Evert De Graaf came to Britain ten years ago from the Netherlands with a van and a plan to sell damp-proofing. Thanks to a singleminded belief in his product, Holland Damp Proofing now has four branches in Britain and a multimillion-pound turnover. “British consumers were getting into green products. Then the housing market crashed in 2008. We saw it coming,” he says.

“In the boom years, a lot of work was being done in buying and selling properties, which all of a sudden stopped but we saw it as our chance to grow the business. Our product has a unique selling point. It’s green. It’s tried and tested. We have been here for ten years but people still think of it as new. It’s a British thing.”

The young mum from Preston received national attention after winning investment for her frozen dessert range on Dragons’ Den. Peter Jones and Duncan Bannatyne invested £65,000 for a 30 per cent stake in her company, which she started in 2009 in response to her young son’s food allergies. Henshaw’s range of free-from desserts are aimed at the growing market for food intolerance products. They contain no added sugar, dairy, gluten, soya or nuts.

“I was in shock for about a week after the filming,” she says. “I had the company to continue running so I carried on as normal and had to keep my news top secret until it was aired. I received a call from Peter Jones soon after the show was recorded inviting me to his offices in London. We decided the best thing we could do would be to rebrand the original products and call them Freedom, enabling us to expand into other food areas at a later date.”

Since her appearance on the TV series, Henshaw has secured a five-figure licensing deal with R&R Ice Cream in Yorkshire and the Freedom range of products hit supermarket shelves in September. First off were deals with Sainsbury’s and Asda, then Tesco, Morrisons and Waitrose followed.

David Sandhu became chief executive of Ai Claims Solutions, known as “the ethical claims management” business in July 2006 having previously been group managing director (from July 2005) and director of claims and operations.

Prior to joining Blackpool-based Ai in October 2000 he spent 12 years working in the claims teams of various insurers including Bishopsgate, GRE, AGF and Fortis – specifically dealing with complex claims. In the two years prior to joining Ai he was responsible for Fortis policy on Credit Hire. A statistician by background, he has a particular interest in operational research.

A Made in Manchester success story is always good to see, and David Vincent, born in London and now a big name on the national club scene, has forged his reputation largely in Manchester. Before graduating in management sciences from UMIST in 1996, Vincent staged club nights. Within a couple of years he was staging events with Cream at the MEN and London Arenas.

He did a spell as UK tour manager and international events coordinator for the Ministry of Sound at venues worldwide and gave Pacha Ibiza the busiest summer season in its 25 year-history. In 1999 he acquired the Tribal Gathering dance music festival and launched other clubs throughout mainland Europe and further afield.

In 2000 he reopened Sankey’s Soap nightclub in Manchester. He won a string of awards before closing the venue in 2005. Soon after he bought the building, removed the “Soap” from the name and added in rehearsal rooms and studio space.

Vincent also reintroduced the club’s founder Andrew Spiro as a partner and it’s been success all the way since, culminating in a Best Club in the World award this year from DJ magazine.

Mackin and business partner Tom Glass set up digital marketing agency theEword back in 2006. The company handles PPC (pay per click) and SEO (search engine optimisation) campaigns for its clients, and has grown into a 16-strong team. Both had moved over from working on the client side Mackin when he was head of e-commerce for Celltalk and Glass with internet retail specialist ShopDirect.

“There were no specialist marketing agencies which could provide a full SEO service, from the formulation and execution of a marketing campaign to the analysis and optimisation of the website that the user visits,” says Mackin. A key drive for the business is to share its knowledge with clients, something that was a real challenge in the early days. But the evidence suggests that this technique is working with a rapidly growing list of customers. Entrepreneur and investor Chris Sheffield is the chairman.

Al was a speaker at Insider’s Business of Media Summit this year. Click here to read more from the event.

Sheldon and his sister Sarah are the latest in the family line at east Manchester wholesale bakery GH Sheldon. Founded in 1949 by Harold Sheldon, the company is now led by his son Graham as managing director, with his wife Barbara as company secretary. In summer 2010, GH Sheldon doubled its capacity with a £2m expansion funded by The Co-operative Bank’s Lancashire corporate banking centre. The company bought and refurbished a site opposite its original Openshaw bakery and installed three production plants to produce its signature Lancashire Oven Bottom Muffins. The company supplies more than 30 specialist baked products for customers including Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Asda, The Co-operative, Morrisons and Aldi. Staff numbers have doubled to more than 200 bakers, delivery drivers and office staff since the expansion.

Dooley, along with Manchester kitchen tycoon-turned property developer David Russell, bought out legendary Manchester shirt maker Frank Rostron in 2007. After a year-long handover, Dooley began to put his spin on the Princess Street institution, turning it into a full-on gentleman’s outfitters – a business as renowned for suits as it is shirts, of which it still sells 150 to 200 a week. In 2009, a horrible year for many, he reported sales up by 30 per cent.

The US is a big growth area – Dooley emails his list of customers and prospects ahead of regular trips to New York, Boston, Chicago and LA – there are 2,000 Rostron customers in New York alone, including major civic leaders, so that city gets six visits a year. He says: “We’ve seen a real growth in demand for English-made, quality stuff, both at home and abroad and it’s all still made in Manchester. They’re still half the price of what they’ll get from the US shops. They generally get one as a trial and come back for five, six or a dozen.” Suits generally retail at between £1,000 and £1,500.

The goal of I-PAYE is simple – to become the UK’s operator of choice for umbrella services. Essentially, it provides an employment and payroll vehicle for contractors, freelancers and self-employed professionals – working on short-term contracts for third-party clients, which allows an individual to join together what would be separate contracts. Based on Kings Business Park in Knowsley, I-PAYE was ranked seven in The Sunday Times Fast Track 100 Fastest-Growing Companies this year. The position owed much to I-PAYE’s consistent sales growth, during which time turnover went from £3.4m in 2005/06 to £68m in 2008/09. Gaynor McGrail, co-founder and director, says: “The past four years have involved a lot of hard work and investment in our systems, but we don’t intend to stop. We are aiming to double the size of the business over the next three years, which should be possible thanks to being well-positioned with an extensive base of agency customers.”

The goal of I-PAYE is simple – to become the UK’s operator of choice for umbrella services. Essentially, it provides an employment and payroll vehicle for contractors, freelancers and self-employed professionals – working on short-term contracts for third-party clients, which allows an individual to join together what would be separate contracts. Based on Kings Business Park in Knowsley, I-PAYE was ranked seven in The Sunday Times Fast Track 100 Fastest-Growing Companies this year. The position owed much to I-PAYE’s consistent sales growth, during which time turnover went from £3.4m in 2005/06 to £68m in 2008/09. Gaynor McGrail, co-founder and director, says: “The past four years have involved a lot of hard work and investment in our systems, but we don’t intend to stop. We are aiming to double the size of the business over the next three years, which should be possible thanks to being well-positioned with an extensive base of agency customers.”

Mackin and business partner Tom Glass set up digital marketing agency theEword back in 2006. The company handles PPC (pay per click) and SEO (search engine optimisation) campaigns for its clients, and has grown into a 16-strong team. Both had moved over from working on the client side Mackin when he was head of e-commerce for Celltalk and Glass with internet retail specialist ShopDirect.

“There were no specialist marketing agencies which could provide a full SEO service, from the formulation and execution of a marketing campaign to the analysis and optimisation of the website that the user visits,” says Mackin. A key drive for the business is to share its knowledge with clients, something that was a real challenge in the early days. But the evidence suggests that this technique is working with a rapidly growing list of customers. Entrepreneur and investor Chris Sheffield is the chairman.

Harris and Ross are a Kiwi duo. The former physiotherapists at Manchester City now offer physio to the England Rugby League, along with top track and field athletes including Jenny Meadows, a medal winner at the 2009 World Championships and the 2010 European Championships. They also work with marathon regular Gordon Ramsay and stars from Coronation Street as part of an occupational health contract with ITV. And there’s international work with operators who run “ride the Tour de France” type packages.

“We’re lucky to have a national reputation at the top end of physiotherapy but we’re looking to expand our portfolio,” says Harris. “The recession has taught us that we need to cover the bread and butter part of the market, and offering good physiotherapy accessible to all is probably the next step. We’ve got great locations to service the region from.”

They are exploring national franchise operations but as Harris says: “The focus has always been on quality, we’re choosy about hiring and who we work with.”

Leigh qualified as a chartered accountant with Deloitte & Touche in 1996. He joined PZ Cussons in 1997 and was appointed to the board as group finance director in 2006. He is one of four executive directors at the domestic products group and is also on the group risk and corporate social responsibility committees. PZ, based at Manchester airport, is a hugely important North West business. It has invested heavily in research and development in this part of the world, and a move to the airport signifies Manchester City Council’s intention to make the airport an economic centre in its own right. Most importantly, in its last set of results for the year to 31 May 2010, PZ increased operating profit by 11.9 per cent to £101.4m, thanks to improved margins. With its £44.3m capital expenditure programme complete, investors should be already rubbing their hands in anticipation of next year’s figures.

McManus is UK managing director of Stiebel Eltron, a company with a £500m turnover that started in a Berlin backyard in 1924 and developed the first coil immersion heater. McManus has spent the past two years relocating and relaunching the UK operation of one of the world’s biggest renewable energy product manufacturers. He’s achieved strong financial gains for Stiebel Eltron, getting to a £2m turnover in its second year and growing the UK operation by 36 per cent year-on-year. In 2009 McManus launched the Green Power Forum, which provides advice to professionals in the public and private sector by offering information and training on the latest technologies. This year he, along with the Skills Funding Agency and training provider Scientiam, announced plans for the Green Energy Training Centre, dedicated to microgeneration technologies.

Harris and Ross are a Kiwi duo. The former physiotherapists at Manchester City now offer physio to the England Rugby League, along with top track and field athletes including Jenny Meadows, a medal winner at the 2009 World Championships and the 2010 European Championships. They also work with marathon regular Gordon Ramsay and stars from Coronation Street as part of an occupational health contract with ITV. And there’s international work with operators who run “ride the Tour de France” type packages.

“We’re lucky to have a national reputation at the top end of physiotherapy but we’re looking to expand our portfolio,” says Harris. “The recession has taught us that we need to cover the bread and butter part of the market, and offering good physiotherapy accessible to all is probably the next step. We’ve got great locations to service the region from.”

They are exploring national franchise operations but as Harris says: “The focus has always been on quality, we’re choosy about hiring and who we work with.”

Make-up and wigs are a core component of the theatrical and television industry in the North West. And it was a niche in wigs that encouraged Jackie Sweeney to set up Wigs Up North in June 2004. As well as making wigs and hairpieces, the business also sources professional make-up supplies. “We wanted to create a place where make-up artists, performers and students could try products before buying them. It would also allow the public to sample product ranges not available on the high street,” she says. Like much of the services to the media industry, the bulk is in London but Sweeney sees a good opportunity for her business to grow. “It’s a busy time; I’ve just been working on a commercial shoot because a lot of people have been working on the shooting of Captain America.” Sweeney owns the business with business partners Liz Armstrong and Vicky Holmes. It is based in Royal Mills in Ancoats, East.

This is a man who just says he was in the right place at the right time. In January 2006 the Postal Services Commission was formed to compete with Royal Mail and dish out licences to break its monopoly. Bigley and his company secured one, which means it can take mail out of Royal Mail, sort it, then send it back to be delivered. Bigley, who has grown the company into a £32m operation, attracted venture capital support from Steve Sealey’s Aquarius in 2008. “These opportunities only come along once or twice in a lifetime,” says Bigley. “And you’ve got to fully believe in what you are about to do.” The company is doubling in size year-on-year, with just a 5 per cent market share. Its main competitors are TNT and UK Mail.

The rapid completion of the new Holiday Inn Express hotel on Manchester’s Oxford Road in the first half of 2010 surprised few in the local property industry. The hotel was finished two months ahead of schedule, indicative of the company’s ability to deliver and its thirst for further work in a sector that has remained active. The brothers from Rochdale founded Russells Construction in 1997 after learning the trade as a quantity surveyor and site manager respectively – and have built a building company with a growing reputation. Russells took over Penrith Construction in 2002 and a housebuilding division, Russell Homes, was launched in 2004. It has done schemes including the Miltons in Cheadle and the Village Green in Wigan. The company works regularly on projects for its sister company, Property Alliance Group, chaired by David Russell. Other wins include a £2.2m contract for Manchester Ship Canal Developments (a joint venture between Manchester City Council and Peel) to build 108 homes at Eastbank in Ancoats; a £2m retail park in Hull; and a £1.5m deal to build an Aldi in North Wales.

Jason Tyldesley’s dad Brian started CSL in Burnley in 1984 and it remains very much a family concern. Jason started getting involved from the age of 13, originally on the manufacturing side and logistics, before taking to the shop floor and then management. He took a break to get a degree in IT, then a job as an analyst programmer, before returning to the business to take over from his father. The company is now a 16-strong chain with a turnover of £72.5m.

It is also a brand on all our screens at the moment as the company launches its iPad and iPhone apps and builds on a tablet-based ordering system that reflects investment in IT. Tyldesley says: “While many of our rivals are stuck in the cycle of slashing quality to reach the lowest price point, we’re building our business on the back of good-value products that are built to last, and providing the customer with an experience that’s at the cutting edge of modern retailing.” One of his mantras, in the cut-throat sector, is: “The harder you try, the less you sell.”

Former advertising industry director Mark Hogg set up IFE Services in 1997 to capitalise on the developing in-flight entertainment market. The company provides licensed films, hosted channels and original content to 50 airlines and has a sister operation, OceansTV, which provides similar products to the cruise liner industry, such as safety information videos. It also distributes the Sony PlayStation Portable to passengers, through a joint venture. Parent company Travel Entertainment Group turns over £24m a year and employs 75 staff between a base in Knutsford and international operations in Singapore, Madrid, Los Angeles and Miami.

Hogg, who flies all over the world and is a hard man to track down, says the bestlesson he has learnt in business is to “always try and focus your time to yield maximum rewards because time is the one thing you can’t get back”. This is from a man who has put in many 100-hour weeks in his time and has a clear vision for the future: “I want ownership of the airline in-flight entertainment industry and significant market shares of the passenger entertainment markets in other travel sectors.”

Mike Davies, co-founder of FirstLine Digital, is responsible for the overall running of the digital installation business. He is also on the board of the RDI, the Registered Digital Installers licensing body. He worked at BSkyB, Thorn UK and the Royal Airforce before starting FirstLine, which has increased turnover to £36.1m from £24.6m in the previous year.

FirstLine Digital is now keen to explore new markets and offer more services, which includes operating trade counters in strategic locations throughout the UK and a sevenday- a-week engineering operation. FirstLine Digital is also a preferred installer for the Digital Switchover Help Scheme for the BBC.

Cordwell started her career working for a variety of multinational advertising agencies before founding interactive design company MagneticNorth in the summer of 2000. She started with a team of four, but the business has become an internationally renowned brand with a multi-award-winning portfolio of clients including BBC, Tate, Marketing Manchester and Arup, as well as a range of home-grown digital products.

In addition to client commissions, she also decided to introduce new mN products in 2007, alongside co-founder Brendan Dawes. “The first was MIXA, a digital mix-tape, which has sold in 42 countries and has allowed us to partner with other brands including Rough Trade and MySpace,” she says.

The latest product, MoviePeg, launched in March and has generated large volumes of sales and media coverage across the world. As well as retailing through the company’s site, the products are in Liberty, London, Amazon and a handful of boutiques globally including in Paris and New York.

The internet is the only game in town for some entrepreneurs. But while the creative side of websites is what catches our eye, the grinding cogs behind the scenes are what make them function. As Web 2.0 has taken hold and companies are demanding more from their online offering, user experience and functionality have become paramount.

Enter two computer programmers with a desire to start a business doing just that. Whiteside and Iddon decided to go it alone after meeting at agency Amaze a few years ago. They set up Building Blocks in March 2007 and have grown it into a £1.5m-turnover company. Their new office on Manchester’s Portland Street is home to 26 staff and they have just appointed two in New York and one in San Francisco to support a growing US customer base. Clients include Alitalia Airlines, pan-African mobile telecoms company Vodacom and Australian accounting body CPA.

Their mantra: “Deliver what you promise,” says Iddon. “If you are going to be successful you need strategic accounts – the only way to have those is to do what you do well.” The pair say they just want to do projects they enjoy, but Whiteside reckons the business could reach a headcount of 50.

Cozens has been in the headlines recently after he and business partner Declan Cosgrove set up goldmadesimple.com, a website dedicated to the buying and selling of gold. The idea came about when Cozens decided to invest some of his own money and found the gold market complicated and difficult to understand. This venture builds on Bite Digital, a marketing agency with offices in Manchester, London and Bucharest. When he’s not head first into expanding a fledgling gold investment business, he’s thinking about the next expansion plan for Bite – indications suggest he’s looking to set up an office in Australia to tap the Asian markets and provide a seamless connection for workflow between time zones.

The internet is the only game in town for some entrepreneurs. But while the creative side of websites is what catches our eye, the grinding cogs behind the scenes are what make them function. As Web 2.0 has taken hold and companies are demanding more from their online offering, user experience and functionality have become paramount.

Enter two computer programmers with a desire to start a business doing just that. Whiteside and Iddon decided to go it alone after meeting at agency Amaze a few years ago. They set up Building Blocks in March 2007 and have grown it into a £1.5m-turnover company. Their new office on Manchester’s Portland Street is home to 26 staff and they have just appointed two in New York and one in San Francisco to support a growing US customer base. Clients include Alitalia Airlines, pan-African mobile telecoms company Vodacom and Australian accounting body CPA.

Their mantra: “Deliver what you promise,” says Iddon. “If you are going to be successful you need strategic accounts – the only way to have those is to do what you do well.” The pair say they just want to do projects they enjoy, but Whiteside reckons the business could reach a headcount of 50.