Academy To Champion North West Business

Monday 12th February, 2007

The University of Manchester Incubator Company (UMIC) has joined forces with Winning Pitch Ltd to form The Winning Business Academy, the first sales academy dedicated to helping the rising stars of North West business to realise their potential.

UMIC, which provides incubation facilities and mentoring to spin out businesses from The University of Manchester and local entrepreneurs, will work closely with Winning Pitch, which focus on assisting companies to achieve sustained profitable growth, to realise their full potential. Winning Pitch has developed and delivers high impact solutions proven to create sustainable fast track growth in sales and business development and in it’s early stages it also benefited from UMIC’s facilities and expertise.

The Winning Business Academy will be located at the Technology Centre at One Central Park in East Manchester. UMIC is hoping to roll the concept out across the North West and possibly nationally and internationally.

UMIC’s Business Incubation Manager at One Central Park, Tony Walker, explains: “Incubator companies rarely have time to focus on strategic selling skills which is an essential component for all successful businesses. UMIC has ten years’ experience in successfully developing biomedical and technology-based ventures, resulting in a number of stock market listed businesses. The Winning Businesses Academy will harness this experience to help not just University spin-outs, but all growing businesses in the North West achieve success whilst also stimulating the economy and aiding regeneration as part of the regional agenda.”

Managing Director of Winning Pitch Ltd, John Leach, continues: “The Winning Business Academy received a phenomenally positive response to its inaugural event, held in conjunction with Manchester Momentum, and we look forward to assisting in the business growth, innovation and regeneration of the North West.”

Growing businesses will benefit from advice on how to excel at winning business, a series of standalone events delivered by a range of providers, a virtual community to share ideas and resources and one to one coaching on sales and business development. A Pathfinder guide, sponsored by Baker Tilly, The Royal Bank of Scotland, Anglo Irish Bank and MIDAS, will also be available.

The Winning Business Academy came about through a Memorandum of Understanding, signed by UMIC and Winning Pitch Ltd in summer 2006. The memorandum states that the two organisations will work together on a number of projects related to best practice in business growth across the North West.

The Winning Business Academy is actively recruiting businesses for a series of seminars to be held in March at One Central Park. For more information please contact Tony Walker on 0161 918 6791 or email [email protected]

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