Midland entrepreneurs set for awards
Mar 3 2009 by Alun Thorne, Birmingham Post
With the UK economy expected to contract by over 2.7 per cent during the next 12 months, it has never been more important to support and nurture the West Midlands entrepreneurial community – the cash generators of tomorrow.
This is the view of Ronnie Bowker, senior partner of Ernst & Young’s Birmingham office, who believes that entrepreneurs are key to the region’s long-term economic recovery and growth.
Speaking in advance of Ernst & Young’s Entrepreneur Of The Year Awards, Mr Bowker said: “Entrepreneurs are the lifeblood of the West Midlands and wider UK economy, driving economic growth, creating jobs, and supporting inward investment.
“In these turbulent times, it has never been more important to recognise their contributions and give them the support and means to continue to create successful businesses.”
The West Midlands has a rich entrepreneurial history, having been home to business luminaries such as John Cadbury, the founder of Cadbury’s chocolate, and Alec Ignossis, who designed the Mini.
Last year’s Ernst & Young UK Entrepreneur Of The Year Award winner was Walsall based business man, Richard Harpin, CEO of HomeServe Plc – a domestic emergency insurance and repair company which services over 1.4million households every year.
“Our Entrepreneur Of The Year Awards programme is always a showcase for high flyers from the West Midlands business community. I hope we will see the same calibre of entries this year and that we will be provided with new role models to help continue the region’s entrepreneurial legacy and inspire the next generation”, said Mr Bowker.
He added: “Given the tough trading conditions, our judges this year will take into account how finalists are adapting to the downturn, making most of opportunities it has presented and their preparations for the upturn.”
Richard Harpin, CEO, HomeServe plc, commented: “Despite the economic downturn, HomeServe continues to perform well demonstrating the strength of our business model and continuing attractiveness of our products. In this economic environment, we believe that our customers see even more benefit in our products, wanting to be covered so they do not have any surprise costs.
“In our UK business, we remain on target to deliver at least the same level of new insurance policies as last year. We are also expanding rapidly internationally, recently announcing our move into Belgium, following our success in France, USA and Spain.
“While HomeServe remains a success story for the Midlands, there are many companies facing a number of challenges.” Ronnie Bowker believes that one of the biggest challenges facing the region’s entrepreneurial community in the current economic climate was the lack of liquidity in the market.
“Whether a start-up business or a mature company looking to refinance debt or acquire funds for R&D, the current credit crisis has created some of the toughest trading conditions in 25 years.
“Money is still available but there’s less of it, it’s harder to access and it comes at a price,” he said.
