Entrepreneur David Jackson Q&A
Group for £106m but he is repeating that success now with the AIM-quoted, Redhall Group, which provides engineering services to the nuclear, oil and gas, food and pharmaceutical industries. As chairman and chief executive, Jackson has taken Redhall from a market value of £2.9m to more than £50m in less than three years. He has interests in several private companies and is chairman of Eureka! The Museum for Children in Halifax.
Q: What is your entrepreneurial background?
A: I trained as an accountant and spent 25 years working for other people. I then bought a business from my boss. I started to be my own boss in 1990 just before the recession. We managed to get through that – we spent two years going backwards – and that business grew to become Peterhouse Group, which I built up over 12 years before selling to Babcock International in 2004 for £106m. The original investment was £900,000. I took a year out and then I started again with a colleague from Peterhouse, Simon Foster, and he and I joined Redhall. It had a £2.9m market capitalisation when we joined and it’s now worth £56m two and a half years later.
Q: Why did you agree to become a judge?
A: Because I enjoyed doing it last year. I was very pleased with the quality of the short-list I saw last year and it was difficult to choose between them. The winner in my region went on to win the overall competition, which was quite nice.
Q: Why is the Entrepreneur Challenge so important?
A: I think it’s a very good initiative. It’s obviously very important from the entrants’ point of view because, particularly at the moment [with the credit crunch], a £5m interest-free loan for a year is very valuable. The banks are not going to be able to lend as much as they were before and I think debt is going to be expensive for many people.
Q: What will you look for in a competition entry?
A: When I judged it last year I looked for what the individual had done. I’m not looking for somebody who has taken huge risks. Some people misunderstand the word entrepreneur. You’ve got to take a very balanced judgement in business.
Q: In the awards entries you’ve judged before, what common mistakes do unsuccessful entrants make?
A: There wasn’t a huge difference between the short-listed entrants I saw last year. But I think the way the entrants present to the judges is important and they should involve their colleagues. If they do it on their own it can be too much about “me” and “me” is not the business.
Q: What difference will a £5m interest-free loan make to the winners?
A: Don’t forget, it has got to be repaid. It’s not a gift. My concern is whether they could handle the £5m and put it to good use. It’s a bit like winning the Lottery – you can buy a lot of things. So it’s quite important to me to know what they’re going to do with the money. I remember one particular entrant last year who said he was going to expand geographically and I actually thought that was wrong for the business to do that. So, what they’re going to do with the money is important and whether they can handle it because you’ve got to understand it can be a negative thing as well.
Q: Why is encouraging enterprise in the UK so important?
A: Enterprise is hugely important because without people who back their business with their own money you wouldn’t have the economy that we have. I don’t think that starting a business is easy right now. A lot of people are going to have to baton down the hatches, which is difficult for an entrepreneurial spirit.
Q: What makes a successful entrepreneur?
A: You’ve got to have good vision, you’ve got to be prepared to work hard and you need to have a lot of luck. And you need to take other people with you. The only reason I’ve been successful is that I’ve got a strong team around me – people who would walk through plate glass for me.
Q: How important an incentive is money to entrepreneurs?
A: I’ve made a lot of money but it’s certainly not the prime mover for me. The driver has been to have a successful business. I’ve got a lot of pride from having built two businesses but that pride is shared by my team, and they’ve all done well out of it too. There are people who are motivated by money. But the ones who are successful are the ones who keep their feet on the ground and are prepared to work hard, and leave the money until after.