SME Spotlight: Electric String sets sail for growth with super yacht deal
A COMPANY which installs bespoke automation and audio-visual systems for homes and businesses has just signed its biggest contract to date for a new-build super yacht.
Electric String was launched in 2010 by James Symonds and James Ward and is based at South Orbital Trading Park in Hull.
The business now employs 14 staff and is looking to increase its workforce to 20 in the next year as it aims to achieve turnover of more than £1.5m in 2016.
Mr Ward said: “The super yacht market is a very difficult one to get into, so we are obviously very pleased to have secured this recent contract.
“However, we have a diverse portfolio, the corporate and commercial sector is a big growth area for us, as is the residential sector.”
In retail, Electric String has worked for high street chain Fat Face, and in the residential sector it has supplied equipment to former Olympic track and field athlete Seb Coe.
The business has credited Hull’s Enterprise Centre, where it started out, with aiding its growth.
Mr Symonds said: “In five years we have gone from being two men and a van to a company with 14 employees, a showroom in London and headquarters in Hull – and we are about to recruit again.
“The Enterprise Centre gave us strong foundations and the capability to grow. It was a brilliant experience because we were there with other start-ups experiencing the same pain, which really made a difference. We always had support on tap at the university.”
Other entrepreneurs who have benefited from the centre include University of Hull computer science graduates Duncan Mulholland and Louis Deane, with their games company Gateway Interactive. Its debut file, ‘Spectra’, which they have spent the past 18 months working on, has now been released on the Xbox One.
Mr Mulholland said: “The help we received was absolutely invaluable. Fostered by the Enterprise Centre and the expertise offered by the University, Gateway Interactive took off and myself and Louis were invited to spend three months at the prestigious Microsoft Ventures Accelerator Program, before returning with the backing of investors to set up operations in Hull.
“Starting your own company is hugely daunting. Financially, it’s a non-starter for most people. But with the University’s Enterprise Centre providing the help and access that it does, we like to think that there are a lot more graduates realising that they too really can start their own businesses.”
New figures from the University of Hull reveal that businesses operating out of its Enterprise Centre are beating both local and national survival rates, to turnover an estimated combined £8m.
Fifty-six per cent of Enterprise Centre tenants, both past and present, have operated for five years or more, exceeding the national (41.7% ONS), Yorkshire and the Humber (41.2%, ONS) and Hull (39.7%, ONS) average for start-up success. Of the 137 businesses which started life at the Enterprise Centre, 86 remain active businesses, of which 23 are current tenants.
Paula Gouldthorpe, enterprise and entrepreneurship manager at the University of Hull, says: “The Enterprise Centre is a base for exciting start-up and early life businesses, almost 140 have either been tenants at the campus site or supported at the centre since it opened in 2008. With a combined turnover of £8m and employing close to 200 people, this success is a testament to the University’s successful incubation scheme. Performing above expectations is a fantastic indication that the incubation services and related support we offer provides start-ups with an increased survival rate, which contributes significantly to the local economy.”
Launched in 2008, the Enterprise Centre at the University of Hull aims to contribute to the region’s social and economic development through supporting innovative new enterprises. It offers start-ups and self-employed entrepreneurs a place to build and grow their businesses with access to a range of support, including free advice, mentorships, research and development, incubation space, business networks and access to technology.
Other tenants include VISR VR, the UK’s largest independent supplier of durable, low-cost cardboard virtual reality headsets, The Blue Approach, a mental health consultancy, and PetDreamHouse an innovative pet product e-commerce business.
For Entrepreneurs Only, a community interest company, is also based at the Enterprise Centre.
The company is made-up of over 100 of Hull and East Yorkshire’s leading entrepreneurs, who have a joint turnover of £3bn and employ 18,000 people. It provides peer support to its members and also delivers mentoring and start-up clinics to local businesses, students and graduates.
