Dragon targets pitch at South West firms

D RAGONS' Den investor Deborah Meaden has urged Westcountry firms to factor charitable giving into their business plan, as she warned: "The recession is not over yet."

The Somerset-born entrepreneur – who grew Exeter-based Weststar Holidays into a multi-million-pound business before selling her remaining stake in 2007 – said that fundraising could boost local firms' productivity by engaging and motivating staff.

Ms Meaden is midway through a three-year tenure as patron of the NSPCC ChildLine's South West Child's Voice Appeal.

Ms Meaden this week visited the charity's Exeter call centre, which is the first point of contact for abused, bullied or neglected children from the region, who call up for help via the national telephone helpline.

The Westcountry-based charity won her support after pitching its proposition to her in a similar way to a business seeking investment.

Ms Meaden, who revealed that she is approached for aid by "hundreds" of charities every week, said she had been seeking a regional cause to support.

She said: "I grilled them. With a business investment it is all about profit, and with a charity it is the difference it makes to people's lives. They pitched to me and I was very impressed."

This week, at the end of a school day when the Exeter switchboard ought to have been buzzing, calls were being diverted upcountry. The regional base faces a desperate shortage of trained volunteers to man the lines.

Ms Meaden is spearheading a campaign for local firms to raise £1,600 to cover the cost of training each new ChildLine operator, also calling upon firms hit hard by recession to consider instead "donating" a member of staff to volunteer ChildLine a few work hours every month.

"The days when you could ask a major corporation to donate £100,000 or even a million to a cause are over," she said.

"It's tough. But I like the model which engages people within a company to raise funds, which on a wider scale can be a very powerful tool for businesses to use. We're encouraging businesses to use us as a way to bring their team together."

Ms Meaden said the national economy would have to show signs of a far more sustained recovery before she was convinced of an end to recession. She described claims of recovery over 0.1 per cent growth as "seriously grasping at straws".

"It's still a difficult time for businesses," she said. "But it presents specific challenges. It's not a time to go into suspended animation, but to become creative. While some businesses are being genuinely affected, many SMEs are much better placed to see themselves through, as they are able to respond quicker and make sensible decisions."

Recently, Ms Meaden stepped into the boardroom of her first hands-on business since selling Weststar. She acquired Wellington-based woollen mill Fox Brothers in October, after initially becoming an investor in June. The mill is just nine miles from the Somerset home where Ms Meaden spends an increasing amount of time.

She told the WMN she intended to factor in local sourcing to the 228-year-old firm's manufacturing line wherever possible.

She has already recruited an extra weaver to the firm's 14-strong staff, which manufactures fine cloth for clients including Savile Row tailors and Stella McCartney. Yet despite Fox's proximity to her South West home, she stressed that her number one investment priority remained viability and potential – with no room in her portfolio for home-spun sentimentality.

"Fox is the first business for a long time that I've been involved with hands on," she said.

"I love the South West. When I can choose anywhere in the world to live, it's home – and where I feel at home. But I don't think 'I only want to work within the South West' – after all, a business opportunity is a business opportunity."

Yet aside from her conviction in Fox Brothers, she describes Torrington-based business MixAlbum as "the business love of my life". She co-invested £150,000 for a 20 per cent stake of Ian Charmings' music download enterprise in 2006.

The virtual DJ system, which bespoke mixes and sells dance music albums to fitness instructors online, is now a market leader in the sector. "Ian is such a good guy," Ms Meaden said. "I am now onto my second investment with him."

Among the latest MixAlbum projects in the pipeline is a new iPhone application.

For more information about ChildLine's South West Child's Voice Appeal, call 0844 8920562.