EMS Internet in the Manchester Evening News

We’re growing! That’s the story the Manchester Evening News has picked up on. More staff, increased revenue and better profit is the detail.

2014/15 was a great year for the EMS Internet team and collectively they helped us achieve these results in a challenging, but fun, year.

The Article

A firm which helps businesses to grow plans to double its profits and expand by opening a London office.

EMS Internet, based in Warrington, has secured a £150,000 Government EFG (Enterprise Finance Guarantee) loan through Barclays

The firm’s chairman Kevin Harrington said the cash was essential to growth plans.

“Our business was established in 1999, and like many, it has steady growth and is now going into a period of rapid growth,” Harrington told Business Week.

“We help businesses grow, but the biggest challenge we have is that cash becomes a problem. So it makes the support from Barclays essential.

“Without this funding, growing would be dangerous. With it we can employ more people, satisfy more customers and become more profitable.”

Harrington, who was formerly global marketing director at BBC Worldwide and also worked for Sony and Sodexo, said EMS now employs 80 people, up from 62 a year ago.

“In this last financial year we should have doubled our profits against a revenue increase of about a third,” he added. We have been taking on more staff, and headcount is our single biggest cost. But we need people to craft websites and code and they need to be paid.

“We will use the money to set out to double our revenue again. And we are growing staff base which is good for the region and also developing relationships with education institutions and we now have a graduate programme in place.”

While EMS’ headquarters will remain in Warrington the outfit is planning to open a commercial office in London.

Harrington added: “It will be a good move for us. All other aspects of the business will remain and be run in Warrington.

“I joined EMS in February last year. Like it is for many firms, going out of recession is a dangerous time for small businesses.

“But we have been doing well and are expecting good financial results.”

Profile

Kevin Harrington is chairman of Results Through Digital Ltd, a group of companies that includes Appitized, EMS Internet and 6Talent.

With previous business experience as global marketing director with BBC Worldwide, director with Sodexo and a senior manager with Sony, Kevin has a broad view of the commercial and consumer world.

He also has extensive experience of working with SMEs through the launch and growth phases.

The combination of experiences with both big and small businesses gives Kevin a unique insight into business strategy, growth and structure.

Kevin Harrington

I’m a UK-based B2B marketing consultant, specialising in strategic advice for SME business owners. I bring extensive hands-on expertise to every client engagement. Senior leadership roles across technology, media, payments, and publishing have shaped my practical approach. Highlights include serving as Chief Marketing Officer at The Panoply plc (now TPXimpact), Chief Commercial Officer at Tungsten Network, and Global Marketing Director at BBC Worldwide. Over the years, I’ve guided numerous SMEs through transformation and value creation. Helping businesses evolve and thrive is a genuine passion. Practical marketing insights and succession planning strategies are at the heart of what I do, as I believe growing a business’s asset value should be a rewarding and positive journey for every entrepreneur.

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