Member Article

Successful finance firm to inspire young Barnsley entrepreneurs

A South Yorkshire financial firm that has doubled in size in four years to a turnover of more than £3m is planning to help the next generation.

Financial planning company Lifetime, based at Dodworth near Barnsley, is setting up a pilot project taking business people into schools to inspire young people.

The project, Barnsley Business Inspiring Students, is based on a scheme by BBC reporter Robert Peston, called Speakers for Schools. The Barnsley version will be trialled in partnership with Horizon Community College with a view to rolling it out to other schools.

Lifetime’s communications director William Bottomley said the project fitted in with the company ethos of putting something back into the community.

“The company is growing. We have more than doubled our turnover and almost doubled our staff numbers in about four years.

“We are now taking on a new building to expand into and looking at all sorts of exciting opportunities in the future and we thought it was a good time to put something back.”

Lifetime, which gives advice on products from savings to pensions, has 54 people working for it, including self-employed advisers; up from 30 in 2009. In the same time turnover has gone from £1.6m to £3.2m. The additional office building, which comprises of 3,800 square feet, is just across the car park from the current base at Great Cliffe Road.

The company has been helped for several years by business support programme Enterprising Barnsley, which offers free coaching for firms with growth potential. The advice has covered areas including marketing, branding and communications.

William said: “Enterprising Barnsley’s remit is to help to grow Barnsley businesses and by going into schools in a small way we are doing this for the next generation.

“Barnsley is full of successful businesses and we want people to realise you don’t have to leave Barnsley to be successful. If Barnsley is a thriving and innovative place it is a better place for all to live and work.”

John Heckingbottom, of Enterprising Barnsley, said: “It’s been great working with the company to help them grow and create more jobs and it’s fantastic to see that their success can be an inspiration to others.”

The Enterprising Barnsley programme is a partnership between Barnsley Development Agency (BDA) and Barnsley Business and Innovation Centre.

It is supported financially by the European Union and has attracted £2,259,511 investment from the European Regional Development Fund as part of Europe’s support for the region’s economic development, through the Yorkshire and Humber ERDF Programme.

Barnsley Business Inspiring Students will be launched in September. Until then Lifetime is looking for local business people to sign up to give talks to students. For more information contact William at w.bottomley@lifetime-fm.com

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Enterprising Barnsley .