West Yorkshire engineering firm projects £40m turnover with move to new premises

A Huddersfield based engineering business, Accu, is projecting revenues of £40m within the next three years and moving into a new 45,000 sq ft premises in Huddersfield to meet rising customer demand.

The move to Hope Bank Works comes less than two years after co-founder and CEO Martin Ackroyd completed the government-funded Help to Grow: Management Course, which he is crediting for the business’ growth trajectory.

Accu is a precision engineering business that designs, manufactures and distributes component parts to manufacturers and engineers worldwide. It already supplies to more than 50 per cent of the world’s top 100 manufacturers and its management team is looking to drive further international expansion as it targets the Singaporean and US markets.

The new site, Hope Bank Works, used to be the home of motor manufacturer Brook Motors in the 1980s. Accu hopes to revive the site’s “prestige” with a £1m regeneration project.

Martin, who describes Accu as “engineering’s answer to Amazon”, believes its success is in part due to his ability to implement the knowledge and experience he gained when he took part in the Help to Grow: Management Course.

He enrolled on the 12-week course with Sheffield Business School at Sheffield Hallam University in 2021 as he was inspired by its aim to help business leaders and senior managers increase resilience, innovation, and growth.

Since then, Accu has gone from strength to strength. In its first financial year following Martin’s completion of the course, turnover rose 50 per cent to £12m and he is now looking to more than triple the size of the business, targeting a turnover of £40m within the next three years.

Martin Ackroyd, co-founder and CEO of Accu, commented: “I was one of the first Help to Grow: Management graduates and, three years on, it’s clear to see just how much of an impact it’s had on my business.

“Like many entrepreneurs, I didn’t have any formal training, I just started with £200 in the bank and simply got stuck in. I learnt as I went along and have been able to grow our headcount by 50 per cent year on year over the last decade.

“While business was good, you still ask if there’s more you could be doing for you and your team. I knew I needed greater knowledge in areas such as finance and HR, and that’s exactly what Help to Grow: Management provided me with.”

By Matthew Neville – Senior Correspondent, Bdaily

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