Jon Graves - Founder & CEO, Northern Telecom (growth by acquisition)

Leeds Business Podcast

If you’ve ever considered, or want to learn more about, growing your business by acquisition, you’ll want to listen to this week’s guest, Jon Graves, Founder & CEO of Northern Telecom. Jon has grown his business by 7-fold in three years via 13 acquisitions.

Jon tells us all about his acquisition strategy, shares the learnings from some of his early mistakes and gives us all a great ‘how to’ when it comes to buying businesses via a pre-pack.

He also tells us about his ultimately disastrous purchase of a golf club and a hotel.

INTRODUCING JON GRAVES

Jon Graves is a dynamic and tenacious business owner who has carved a formidable path in the telecommunications industry. A decade ago, driven by his entrepreneurial spirit and a vision for innovation, he founded Northern Telecom in the vibrant city of Leeds.

Jon's entrepreneurial journey is characterized by bold moves and calculated risks. With a passion for challenge, he fearlessly spearheaded 15 acquisitions, often rescuing insolvent companies through pre-pack deals. These strategic manoeuvres not only expanded Northern Telecom's reach but also cemented its reputation as a major player in the competitive market.

Based in Leeds, Jon is deeply rooted in his local community. Outside of the boardroom, he finds solace and joy in the loving embrace of his wife and three children, who serve as his greatest source of inspiration and motivation.

Known for his appetite for risk and his love of challenges, Jon thrives in high-stakes environments where others may falter. His strategic foresight and unwavering determination have propelled Northern Telecom to unprecedented heights, earning him recognition as a maverick in the industry.

EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS

[00:00:30] Jon’s business background

[00:03:00] The early stages of the business

[00:08:00] Powering growth through acquisition

[00:13:00] Learning from mistakes

[00:05:00] Buying a hotel and golf club…

[00:19:00] Explaining the terms ‘distressed business’ and ‘pre-pack’

[00:21:00] Expanding the business through acquisition

[00:24:30] How to buy a business via a pre-pack

KEY TAKEAWAYS & BUSINESS LEARNINGS

• As you get bigger, you just have to let go

• With an acquisition for the cost of a salesperson for a year, we start billing the next day

• Stick to what you know

BEST MOMENTS

“Our first acquisition then set a lightbulb off”

“We had to learn to integrate”

“Why wouldn’t you want to buy a hotel and golf club?”

“Do you want to buy an IT company? Just bring £10,000 and it’s yours”

VALUABLE RESOURCES FOR YOU

Website: www.leedsbusinesspodcast.com

Website: https://www.northerntelecom.co.uk

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathangraves1/

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ABOUT YOUR HOST

Phil Fraser went from an accidental kitchen table start up, with no investment, all the way to multi-million pound sale to a PLC 18 years later. He’s travelled the full SME business journey of launch, growth, scale and exit.

As well as hosting the Leeds Business Podcast, Phil now works with ambitious SME-owners as a Business Sounding Board (think somewhere between Business Coach and Business Mentor). In simple terms, he’s ‘a pair of ears and an extra pair eyes’ for SME Owners helping them to be better at what they do. Phil’s mantra is It doesn’t need to be ‘lonely at the top’. He helps Business Owners to be better business owners, by helping with their clarity and focus.

As a Business Sounding Board, he gives SME Owners the time & space to regularly discuss their challenges and opportunities, with no sense of judgement or bias, and in complete confidence. This allows them to explore their options in full, culminating with a list of issues to address/clarify, a clear target in mind, a roadmap to success, and a renewed enthusiasm and confidence for the challenges ahead.

Phil has appeared as a guest on over 60 podcasts, webinars and interviews, from around the whole globe, talking on a variety of business subjects. You can view them all at https://philfraser.co.uk/watch-hear-phil/.

LEEDS BUSINESS PODCAST

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