How See It Now has joined forces with Leeds United and Huddersfield Town to stage memorable events

The Evening with Frank Bruno at John Smith Stadium in Huddersfield in 2015 sold out and raised £3,000 for the Leanne Baker Trust to help people with depression and bipolar disorder.

“Her death had really touched me,” he says. “Her brother, my friend Darren who is an artist, drew a picture of Frank Bruno, which Frank signed on the night, and it was the star piece in the auction.

“That was my first large-scale event and gave me a taste of raising funds for a charitable cause, which was particularly close to my heart at the time.

“I thought ‘wow’, this is pretty easy and it lulled me into a false sense of security because it wasn’t easy at all.”

The former local authority sports development manager had set up sports event and hospitality company See It Now Group in 2014 after he was made redundant.

It started out as a sports promotions company, organising ‘An Evening With…’ type events with the likes of Harry Redknapp and Sugar Ray Leonard but Beattie soon realised he could help events organisers raise more money for charitable causes by providing prizes for their silent auctions.

The company is now a fundraising auctions and events outfit, working with local, regional and national charities, business dinners and also individuals.

“We turn up to the event with a catalogue of prizes and guests are invited to bid over the reserve prices. It costs nothing for the organisers for us to turn up,” says Beattie.

Prizes range from luxury holidays and experiences to contemporary artwork, sports and TV memorabilia. See It Now buys the prizes from its suppliers, sets a reserve price, and anything raised above the reserve price goes to the charity.

See It Now also partners with a number of football clubs including Leeds United, Huddersfield Town and Halifax Town, providing event management services.

Beattie acknowledges that his clients could source auction prizes for themselves and cut out the middleman. However, he says that his service saves them time and takes a huge administrative process out of their hands.

“It’s a much easier way of fundraising for busy people,” he says.

Top prizes include an £8,000 luxury villa holiday in Barbados but one of its most popular items is a York River Cruise with a two-course meal on board for £150.

“We work really closely with event organisers to tailor the types of prizes to the people who are attending the events. We can do high-end luxury items, mid-range items and budget items,” Beattie says.

Most of his clients are in Yorkshire but he also works in the Midlands and North West.

Prior to Covid, Beattie employed two members of staff in an office in Heckmondwike, West Yorkshire, with the firm reaching a turnover of £500,000. But when the imposed restrictions decimated the events industry, he was forced to pause the business.

“It was frightening,” he says. “I had no idea what was going to happen or what I was going to do for work.”

He decided to set up a business framing artwork and sporting memorabilia.

“When Covid hit I was in the process of building an in-house framing workshop for some of the auction items.

“When I moved out of the office, I brought all the equipment to my house and set up a workshop in my garage,” he says.

“I taught myself how to frame artwork and, medals, boxing gloves, sports shirts, film posters and tea towels via YouTube and online tutorials.

“I really enjoyed it in terms of learning a new skill because it was hands-on.”

With the return of the events industry in autumn 2021, Beattie resurrected See It Now Group again. “I felt like I was starting from scratch,” he admits.

He started working with a business coach from Leeds City Region Local Enterprise Partnership on a new five-year strategy to grow the business.

But the reframing business was so successful that he now finds himself running two companies.

“I went into lockdown with one business and now I have two, which is good but it’s full-on,” he says.

During the break from live events, Beattie worked on refining his business, including the prizes and the processes around the service.

Since the events industry came back in full force, many charities are relying on live events and silent auctions to play a big role in their fundraising efforts.

“There’s also been a real pent-up will of the public to go out and enjoy themselves and people are wanting to give to charitable causes,” Beattie says.

“The money we’ve raised for charities since last October has massively increased.”

A recent event in Huddersfield for the ‘Get Beau to Sloan’ campaign, which is raising hundreds of thousands of pounds to help five-year-old Beau go to the Memorial Sloan Cancer Centre in New York to receive treatment for neuroblastoma, raised £8,000 in one evening.

“There was a real will in the room to support a cause that was close to their heart. They all wanted to do their best for Beau and it was really special to be part of this movement in the room,” says Beattie.

The Huddersfield-based father-of-two adds that people need to be careful when booking silent auction companies for their events.

“There’s a real trust element involved,” he says. “What I do when I’m asking people to book a silent auction with us is give them the contact details of the last three people I worked with to provide a reference.”

For Beattie, the motivation behind his business is the ‘feel-good factor’.

“Every time we go to an event, we’re assisting with a cause that’s close to someone’s heart and that’s a great job to have in my eyes,” he says.