Success stories
Footballtradedirectory.com gets Finance for Growth
Wednesday 2nd June
A Blackburn-based company - whose online trade directory, Footballtradedirectory.com, is established as the ‘Yell.com’ for the football industry - is going from strength-to-strength with thanks to No Limits Finance4Growth.
Sportsglobal (UK) LTD, based at the Business Development Centre on Eanam Wharf, has received help from Finance4Growth - a project which helps assist the growth and development of established businesses in the local area.
Two grants from Finance4Growth have allowed Sportsglobal (UK) LTD to establish themselves as the number one company putting businesses in front of football clubs and vice versa, providing clubs from the highest echelons of the Premier League down to grass roots level with a one-stop resource for services. They have also managed to create several full-time jobs in the process.
Finance4Growth has invested over £2million in Pennine Lancashire since the project began in 2007.
That support has already created 600 jobs and safeguarded hundreds more. Around 800 companies have benefitted so far.
The idea for Sportsglobal came in 2004/5 when owners George Moss, 56, from Hoddlesden and John Booth, 53, from Leyland, identified the business potential in the growing popularity of grass roots football as well as the lack of commercial expertise in clubs below the Premier League.
George and John met in 1996 when working together at Preston North End FC. Both have had a long and varied career in football including high level positions at both PNE and Stoke City FC, where John was working as commercial director when the seed for the idea first came.
He says: “I was looking for a new kit supplier for Stoke. I couldn’t find a single source of information that collated together maybe 40 or 50 suppliers anywhere. That gave us the idea for creating a directory and we thought the internet was the logical way to progress things.
Adds George: “We did a lot of research; we probably spent two years building the first version of the website. That was released in 2007. It was fairly basic but the reception was good.”
One of the first major steps for the business was to take part in ‘Grass Roots Football live’ an exhibition at the NEC in Birmingham billed as the UK’s No.1 event for Grass Roots Football.
Finance4Growth provided a grant that allowed them to exhibit there.
Says George: “The funding was vital. The event was attended by 20,000 people. At that time we had about 3000 clubs that had registered to use the service. Within three to four months of doing the exhibition we had well over 10,000.”
Sportsglobal now deal with over 28,000 clubs and 1,200 businesses. The likes of Wembley Stadium, The Co-operative Bank, JD Sports, Pukka-Pies and Joma are all registered on their database.
The website was re-launched in its current format in 2009.
Adds John: “We’ve built up a very strong list of contacts. People trust our brand. Companies come to us with a specific goal, we sit down with them, identify who they want to go after and generate leads which they follow up.”
Sportsglobal now have plans for expansion. A second round of funding from Finance4Growth will be spent on upgrading their systems, providing support for direct sales and telesales, allowing them to move into other sporting areas.
Says John: “The business model that we’ve created is just as applicable in rugby, cricket and educational sport and, with the London Olympics coming up, the possibilities there are very exciting as well. We can move into a whole range of sporting activities and that’s where our business is aimed at over the next year to 18 months.
Adds George: “For every business it’s all down to finance. Everyone needs a source of capital – it just helps with the rate of growth. That’s where Finance4Growth have been so crucial for us both in the initial stages of the business and now going forward into our next phase.
“The help has also allowed us to create new jobs for hungry, young and driven people straight from University who’ve got top notch qualifications. We’ve employed three new people in the space of three months. In the current climate there’s not many companies that are in an upward recruitment curve like that.”
For more information visit www.footballtradedirectory.com
Christine Sutton, specialist business advisor for Finance4Growth, said: “We are delighted to have been able to help Sportsglobal through both the initial stages of the company and now moving into the exciting next phase of the business.
“That they have been able to create jobs in the current economic climate is a testament to the strength of the business.
“We welcome other companies to get in touch and discuss how we can help them too.”
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