Helping to build the Yorkshire brands that will be big names of tomorrow - Barry Jackson

When you look down the list of companies, it’s a perfect blend of consumer brands, those that make the most of their Yorkshire beginnings, and businesses that have grown out of the region to be leaders in their specialist field from Morrisons to Bettys, Yorkshire Tea to First Direct. The list goes on. But what are the county’s big brands of tomorrow? What can high-potential, entrepreneurial businesses do to build a national brand?

There are many strategies that businesses can adopt to scale up and reach a national, if not global audience.

Each business has its own unique criteria and expectations for growth, but there are many that have gone before them that have proved the value of buy and build, new site expansion, venturing online, new product development, diversification, investing in standout branding and marketing, as well as strengthening retail and trade distribution channels. If I look at our own portfolio, there are many fantastic examples of homegrown Yorkshire brands working towards and establishing themselves as household names across the country.

Since BGF backed Cooplands in 2017 – investing a total of £16.2m and helping to build out the management team, including the appointment of current CEO, Belinda Youngs – the business has grown to 175 stores and expanded its geographical foot-print.

West Yorkshire-headquartered Bayfields Opticians and Audiologists are building a truly national brand that’s known for its consistency in delivering high-quality optical and audiology services.

The market is dominated by a few big players, but the business believes that there is sufficient room in the market to achieve its growth ambitions by focusing on its brand and proposition.

Its buy and build strategy is being rolled out rapidly across the UK as the company acquires smaller, independent businesses in new locations and brings them into the Bayfields family.

Buy it Direct, based in Huddersfield, started life as Easy Computers when founder Nick Glynne bought a business selling laptops with a £2,000 loan. Today it sells technology, appliances, and lifestyle goods, including furniture and bathrooms, becoming one of the UK’s largest independent online retailers.

Scaling up isn’t easy and demands a long-term view, a plan and the funding and people to deliver that plan. Whatever the obstacles – and the last 18 months has certainly thrown up several – there are opportunities aplenty for businesses to recalibrate their growth strategies and pursue expansion.

By developing and implementing a comprehensive plan and strategy, having the right management team in place to drive that ambition, knowing when your business is at that ‘step-change’ moment, and making sure you have the right funding in place to support that strategy, I’m certain we’ll see many more entrepreneurs building a national brand from a Yorkshire headquarters.

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Thank you

James Mitchinson