AS the fall in the pound encourages hopes that more tourists will visit Scotland we hear from an entrepreneur who plans to make an unusual pitch to potential visitors from China.
Name:
Paul Fraser.
Age:
56.
What is your business called?
Ingliston Country Club.
Where is it based?
In Bishopton, five minutes off the motorway and 15 minutes from Glasgow Airport.
What services does it offer?
Event and hospitality services; quality wedding venues; an award winning restaurant; hotel and lodge accommodation and world class equestrian facilities.
To whom does it sell?
We host a wide range of corporate events on weekdays and over 200 weddings a year, as well as enjoying local support for hospitality and music events. Equestrian events are also increasingly attracting international interest, so we are at least partly, a tourism business.
What is its turnover?
£5.5 million.
How many employees?
140.
When was it formed?
2007.
Why did you take the plunge?
It felt like I had spent 20 years in airport departure lounges, hardly seeing my family while building up another successful business. I fondly thought Ingliston Country Club would mean working fewer hours but in fact, I’m working longer hours than ever. The significant differences now are that we all live and work on the estate and the work is a lot more fun. I know it’s a cliché but it still feels a bit like “living the dream”.
What were you doing before you took the plunge?
Over 20 years before, I had set up BCW Group PLC, an outsourcing company. I grew it to the extent that I was running 13 companies and employing over 1,000 people here and in Ireland. I’ve done all the corporate stuff, with all the attendant headaches over the years but when the time was right, I sold it in 2006.
How did you raise the start-up funding?
The proceeds of the BCW Group sale allowed me to be self-funding.
What was your biggest break?
I’m not sure I ever had one. It felt like 20 years of pain, slog and terror, first time round at least. Running any business is not for the faint hearted or workshy so I guess being born with a real stubborn streak and the determination to be successful was my biggest break.
What was your worst moment?
In the early days of BCW Group we lost a catastrophic amount of data when a fire spread from another part of the building. That was a real low point. It took four years to rebuild but I’m proud not to have laid anyone off throughout.
What do you most enjoy about running the business?
Building a successful country club and running a top equestrian centre feels much more personal and creative than anything I’ve done before. There are now four generations of us living on the estate and no two days are ever the same.
It can be a challenge of course, but we play to each other’s strengths and enjoy the freedom to build a business, working side by side with each other and with our various client groups.
What do you least enjoy?
Funnily enough, I can’t watch the riding events – particularly if my wife or daughters are in the saddle. It just makes me too nervous so I have to go do something else and leave them to it. They love horses and are extremely keen riders but it’s not for me.
What are your ambitions for the firm?
I very much want development of the estate to continue long term so we are introducing onsite accommodation for staff; we’ve launched our own training school and are currently negotiating to bring in new, young chefs from Italy.
Permanent marquee facilities will allow us to host much larger events and country fairs and I am looking to develop the music venue side of the business alongside our corporate events.
I also have my eye on the Chinese market. They have a lively interest in equestrian pursuits and as soon as we can have direct flights from Beijing to Glasgow, I’m on it.
Success for me would be to be able to offer a complete career path from starter job to management.
What are your five top priorities?
To provide accommodation for staff to stay on the estate. Our location in the hills above the Clyde is beautiful but not well served by public transport in my opinion.
We’re developing a bespoke Business Hub to make the most of our new superfast wifi.
While we were on holiday in Tenerife a few years ago, we bought a family-focused pub and restaurant. We did it up to our own standards and are now launching it as a chain. It really annoys my wife but that’s not work to me.
Quality. Working together to create something we can all be proud of is a huge privilege.
To keep it real and keep it fun.
What could the Westminster and/or Scottish governments do that would help?
We work extremely hard to bring people into Renfrewshire and Inverclyde, whether for weddings, corporate, music or equestrian events – so tax breaks for tourism would really help. Other countries, such as Ireland have a massive advantage in this regard.
What was the most valuable lesson that you learned?
I was very fortunate that with Ingliston Country Club I could be self-financing. I have wasted a lot of time over the years seeking investment and business support which either never came or wasn’t worth the effort. My advice would be to find ways to make things happen but don’t waste time on vague promises.
How do you relax?
I love that Friday night feeling when the Fraser family and the Country Club team all get together for a drink in Palomino’s (restaurant and bar). It’s a long standing tradition and it helps to keep things real and keep lines of conversation open.
We’ve also recently welcomed a beautiful grand-daughter into the family and try to spend more time in Tenerife now. We might still be working hard but these days it doesn’t feel like it.
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