Instrument that’s struck a chord

Graham Lyons, 74, who runs Nuvo Instrumental in Kirkbymoorside in North Yorkshire, designed the Clarinéo, a light instrument for children which is similar to the clarinet and has been designed to be easy to use.

In the last year the business has gone from producing 20 instruments a day at Mr Lyons’ home to a manufacturing plant in Hong Kong with a capacity of producing 700 in 24 hours.

Turnover has reached nearly £1m and Mr Lyons believes it will reach nearly £4m next year as new products are developed. As this happens Mr Lyons wants to meet interested venture capital companies.

The instrument has been tested in hundreds of schools and with professional musicians, including the late Humphrey Lyttelton, who used the instrument on one of his band’s records.

Mr Lyons said: “The Clarinéo has been a phenomenal success – beyond my wildest dreams. We’ve tested the market and carried out research with our distributors, schools and professional musicians and there is definitely a demand for other instruments, based on the Clarinéo.

“But we’re at the stage now where we need to seek investors so that we can realise the company’s potential.”