Up close and personal with – Andrew Thirkill

LEEDS-born Andrew Thirkill is a serial entrepreneur. His many successes include
advertising and marketing agency ATP, which he sold to to Moss Trust for £2.7m eight years later. He took it private again four years later and is still chairman today.

He also established Talking Ads in 1989 and sold it 11 years later to PNC Telecom, chaired by Lord Stevens for £7m. In 2004 he established equity release business Age Partnership, which now employs more than 30 staff and operates from 5,000 sq ft premises on Thorpe Business Park in Leeds. He is chairman of the company, which will release more than £100m this year.

He became a director and shareholder in laser eye surgery specialist, Ultralase in 2003 and was part of the team that helped lead it to a successful sale in 2005 for £30m and subsequent MBO for £175m in 2008. He still acts as marketing consultant for the company.

In addition, Mr Thirkill is non-executive director of online search specialist Infoserve and retained marketing consultant for non-invasive cosmetic surgery company sk:n, which has 30 clinics nationwide.

What aspects of your job/profession do you enjoy the most?

I am involved with two aspects. One is as an entrepreneur the second is as a business advisor. As an entrepreneur I get a buzz out of having a germ of an idea and developing it to fruition by convincing other people to buy into the vision. Over the years I have been lucky enough to build a number of very successful businesses, which have been driven by leading business people.

As a business advisor I love the challenge of being brought into retail companies struggling to reach the next stage of development as they generally have trouble understanding the most profitable route to market and how to create a business model to fit. I am able to draw on my decades of marketing skills to create successful campaigns that connect with the consumer. From that point on it is the fast growth of the business that I really enjoy. Preferably the bigger the better.

What key challenges do you anticipate will affect your sector/profession over the next six months?

Maintaining optimism and belief. I don’t mean from an entrepreneur’s viewpoint as, by their very nature, these aspects will always be prevalent. Instead I am referring to those people and organisations needed to get a new business off the ground. In particular I mean the banks that, with their blinkered approach and current reluctance to lend, could stifle those individuals who could help create the jobs this country so badly need.

What key skills do you think every entrepreneur should have?

Determination and an unshakeable belief. Before embarking on the project they should also have a crystal clear vision of exactly where they want to take the idea, how they are going to get there and the way they win the support of key stakeholders.

Why do you think Yorkshire is a good place to start up/operate a business?

People from Yorkshire have a great reputation for being honest, shrewd, friendly and trustworthy, all of which are great attributes when setting up or running a business. By telling it as it is and not prevaricating helps us to quickly gain respect and support for our businesses both nationally and internationally.

If you could improve anything in the region what would it be?

This is a difficult one as I love Yorkshire and I would not want to be anywhere else. It has been the birthplace of my businesses, which have been successfully developed by very talented people who live in this region. That aside, we need to maintain and develop fast transport links so that we are easily accessible from the rest of the UK and Europe. It is essential a direct flight Heathrow is reinstated and high-speed trains connect us to the capital.

I also wish we had more teams in the Premier League. We all know the boost that status can give to a city. Not only does it benefit the region financially but it can also help to put the city on the world map.

Do you think red tape is hindering business growth in the UK?

Speaking as an entrepreneur I would say that the less hurdles put in the way of starting a business the better. Mountains of paperwork can be demoralising especially when you just want to get on with it. Red tape can reduce employment too. I read a recent report from the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB), which concludes small companies are employing less people as recruitment is being stifled by government bureaucracy.

What is the best piece of advice you have ever been given?

Be a good listener. There is so much you can learn from others. I am not just talking about business leaders but also the people you employ. Those working within an organisation are often the first to spot new opportunities for better working practices or conversely potential problems on the horizon. If you have a problem – remove it as quickly as possible and don’t delay what is often the inevitable whilst the problem festers.

And the worst?…

Being advised to sell any business for shares and not cash! This relates to the time I sold Andrew Thirkill Publicity to Moss Trust in August 1988 on a part cash/part shares deal for £2.7m. Sadly my millionaire status was short lived as Moss Trust was in serious financial difficulty at the time ATP was purchased. This not only rendered my shares effectively worthless but the balance of £650k ATP had in the bank at the time of the sale was lost too. After a great deal of hard work and nearly three wasted years I was able to take ATP private again and today the company employs 25 people and has billings of more than £5m.

What barriers have you had to overcome in growing your business/developing your career, and if any, can you explain how you overcame them?

The biggest barrier I had to overcome was lack of funds. When I started ATP Advertising & Marketing in 1981 as a fresh faced 22 year old it was extremely difficult to convince anyone to help me fund my new venture. I overcame this hurdle by ‘cutting my cloth according to my means’ and patiently building the business. So I worked from my sister’s back bedroom, bought a second hand car, and filed my space orders in a shoebox. I did not take a holiday or pay myself properly until the company started making money a couple of years later. Once you have some success under your belt people are prepared to back you and funding becomes a lot easier.

What was your first job and what did you spend your first wage packet on?

I was an apprentice bricklayer in the extremely hot summer of ‘76. This was short lived as I decided to get an office job when the winter weather set in! I spent my first wage packet of £28 on playing golf with my pals, buying some trendy clothes and paying board.

If you could choose to start your career over again would you do anything different and if so what?

The simple answer is no! My first lucky break was when I got a job in sales at the Yorkshire Post at 19 after my mother wrote to them on my behalf asking for a job. I learnt so much during my three years there, which stood me in good stead for the future. Without the Yorkshire Post I definitely would not have started ATP, which has shaped my life to what it is today.