Britain’s biggest competition for entrepreneurs is back. This year The Sunday Times Bank of Scotland Corporate Entrepreneur Challenge is offering up to £35m in interest-free loans to seven British entrepreneurs who have the drive and ability to take their businesses to the next level and beyond.
The prize pot is quite simply the biggest ever awarded to business in this country. It has the power to transform businesses, to make reputations, to change lives. Each regional winner will receive an interest-free loan of up to £5m for three years. At today’s interest rates, that is equivalent to a cash prize of £825,000.
Can you afford to miss out? We are looking for established entrepreneurs whose companies have an annual turnover of at least £2m and who can show at least two years’ continuous growth in terms of sales, profit or some other form. The businesses can be in almost any sector, with only one or two exceptions.
The key to success is to inspire the judges and to prove that you have the determination to succeed. Along with the business itself, the judges will be looking for an individual who has the qualities needed to propel his or her company to a new place, and, crucially, who has prepared for the journey by creating a strong management team.
James Farrar, head of marketing at Bank of Scotland Corporate and chairman of the judging panel, says the competition gives firms the chance “to stun some serious entrepreneurs on the judging panel, network with like-minded people and get the funding to take your business to a new level. It’s a chance to change the future direction of your business dramatically and accelerate how quickly you can get there”.
Bank of Scotland Corporate has raised the total amount of funding from £25m to £35m this year, he says, “because the spirit of the entrepreneurs who entered last year, and the numbers, took us aback. We met so many people with the ambition and the plans to succeed and the commitment of a strong management team”.
Think of the opportunities that having a £5m interest-free loan could open up for your business. You may wish to use the funds to launch a new product or service or to expand into a new market. You could fund acquisitions, take on new staff and premises or invest in plant and machinery. The choice is yours. All you have to do is convince our panel of judges that you have the energy and enthusiasm to turn your vision into reality.
When it was run for the first time last year, the Entrepreneur Challenge produced a stellar lineup of regional winners, proving that Britain is a hub of creative business activity, with innovation touching every corner of the nation, from Aberdeen to Cornwall and from Holyhead to Norfolk.
The regional winners in 2007 were Aberdeen-based RB Farquhar, which supplies ready-made bathroom and shower-room units to the construction industry, and which plans to use its £5m interest-free loan to expand into the Middle East; Iris Worldwide, a marketing agency in south London, which plans to use the money to open offices overseas; Tyrrells, a crisp-maker based on a family farm in Hereford, which intends to use the loan to make vodka from its unused potatoes; and DriveTech, in Berkshire, which offers training for professional drivers and now plans to provide courses for learners as an alternative to the traditional driving instructor route.
The overall national winner last year was Daisy Communications, a Lancashire company that provides telephone and internet services to small and medium-sized firms. Daisy chief executive Matthew Riley plans to use his loan to grow through acquisition – and he is also joining the judging panel for this year’s Challenge, see right.
THE RULES
Do you have big dreams for your company? Do you have what it takes to expand and dominate your market? Have you got the desire to reach your full potential? If you can answer “yes”, we want to hear from you.
The first step is to complete an entry form at www.theboschallenge.co.uk. The entry process is straightforward, but first check that your company is eligible. All entries must be received by midnight on May 19, 2008.
Every entry will be allocated to one of seven regions across the country. A specialist team from Bank of Scotland Corporate will then shortlist entrants using the bank’s usual procedures and policies. Members of Bank of Scotland Corporate’s regional teams will meet shortlisted entrants to discuss their applications and business plans in confidence.
As part of the entry process for all shortlisted entrants, Bank of Scotland Corporate teams will carry out due diligence procedures and undertake credit checks. All shortlisted entrants will be asked to sign a confidentiality agreement. Based on their initial meetings and information, the bank’s teams will select up to five of the best businesses in each region for the regional finals. Regional finalists will be asked to discuss and agree terms of funding that would form the basis of the prize should they be chosen as a regional winner.
For each regional final there will be a judging panel made up of senior figures from Bank of Scotland Corporate, The Sunday Times and financial consultant Deloitte and two of Bank of Scotland Corporate’s entrepreneurial contacts.
Each regional finalist will spend an hour with the judging panel, presenting his or her business idea and explaining why they should become the regional winner. Each group of finalists will then be invited to an event in their region, where the regional winner will be announced.
THE PRIZES
Each regional winner will receive an offer of funding of up to £5m from Bank of Scotland Corporate. This will be free of interest for three years and free of arrangement fees. Winners will also receive free standard transactional banking for three years. This includes standard Bacs payments and collections but excludes Chaps, international payments, additional lending fees and other ancillary charges.
Legal advice up to a value of £25,000 will be provided for each regional finalist to arrange the terms of funding, with a law firm selected by Bank of Scotland Corporate (but acting solely for the finalist). Costs above this limit (and any disbursements) or where the finalist chooses to use an alternative law firm will be borne by the finalist. All regional finalists will be offered three years of free standard transactional banking.
In December, a national panel of judges, headed by Bank of Scotland Corporate’s chief executive, Peter Cummings, will select one regional winner to be the national champion. Regional winners will be interviewed by the national judging panel and will be invited to a dinner in London, where the overall winner will be announced.
In addition to the funding package, the national winner will be offered the chance to be mentored by one of Britain’s best-known entrepreneurs.
The actual amount of funding offered to each regional winner will depend on their needs and business situation, and will be agreed on a case-by-case basis between Bank of Scotland Corporate and the regional winner. If, for example, the balance sheet of a winning business is unable to sustain a £5m debt, then a lower amount of interest-free funding will be provided. Or should a winning business have a legitimate requirement for more money, then the bank will consider providing a loan over and above the interest-free prize. Funding will be subject to status and terms to be agreed. Security may be required.
The full terms and conditions of the competition can be viewed online at www.theboschallenge.co.uk.
How to enter
Complete the entry form at www.theboschallenge.co.uk. Your business must be registered in the United Kingdom, operate in a British or global market, have an annual turnover of at least £2m, and be wholly or partly privately owned. Not-for-profit businesses and start-ups in the property, insurance and banking sectors are not eligible to enter, and other exclusions and limitations apply. You will need to show continuous trading for the last three years and two years’ sustained growth in sales, revenue, profit or otherwise. Include a brief history of the business, an explanation of your products or services and your market, an outline of your strategy and future plans, any noteworthy factors – for example, a social benefit – and an outline of how much funding you think you need and how this would be used. You will need to provide a full set of financial statements for the previous two trading years and three years’ projected accounts. These will include profit and loss, balance sheet and cash flow statements. The closing date for entries is May 19, 2008. If you have any questions about the Entrepreneur Challenge or require guidance on completing the entry form, please call the Entrepreneur Challenge hotline on 0845 603 6044.
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