Tributes paid to entrepreneur Terry Bland

TRIBUTES have been paid to Manchester entrepreneur Terry Bland who died last week.

Mr Bland, 42, who bought and built up Manchester Science Park-based company Godel Technologies Europe over the last few years, was found dead last weekend at his home near Hyde.

His funeral will take place at 11am next Friday at Blackley Crematorium in Manchester.

Neil Turvin, who became MD at Godel in a reshuffle earlier this year said: “We are deeply saddened to hear of the loss of our chairman, great friend and colleague, Terry Bland. Our thoughts and sincerest condolences go out to his family and friends.

“Terry was an inspiration to everyone at GodelTech who worked alongside him.

“He made working hard, fun! Having taken a step back from being involved in the everyday operations of the business earlier this year, Terry put in place a strong management team who will continue to work hard to meet Terry’s expectations on high quality delivery and continue to do things, ‘in the Godel way’.”

Scott Fletcher, a major shareholder and director of Godel, said: “I’m sure the Manchester business community will mourn the loss of one of the great characters of our time for many years to come. Terry was both a friend and a business partner

“It is such a shame that Terry leaves us at a time when the company has just completed a record month and continues to grow at an outstanding rate.  

“We continue to have an outstanding team in our Minsk office and with the recent addition of Chris Sproston to the existing UK team and Neil’s promotion to MD, the company is in excellent hands moving forward and I would like to assure customers and employees alike that there is a strong backroom team including myself which will help to get us through this difficult time.”

Esther Bland, Terry’s wife, said: “Terry’s family have always been and will always be extremely proud of him, he was loved by all and will remain a massive part of our lives.”