The move to Hope Bank Works comes less than two years after co-founder and CEO Martin Ackroyd completed the government-funded Help to Grow: Management Course, which he is crediting for the business’ growth trajectory.
Accu is a precision engineering business that designs, manufactures and distributes component parts to manufacturers and engineers worldwide. It already supplies to more than 50 per cent of the world’s top 100 manufacturers and its management team is looking to drive further international expansion as it targets the Singaporean and US markets.
The new site, Hope Bank Works used to be the home of world leading motor manufacture Brook Motors in the 1980s. Accu hopes to revive the site’s prestige with a £1m regeneration project.
Martin, who describes Accu as “engineering’s answer to Amazon”, believes its success is in part due to his ability to implement the knowledge and experience he gained when he took part in the Help to Grow: Management Course.
He enrolled on the 12-week course with Sheffield Business School at Sheffield Hallam University in 2021 as he was inspired by its aim to help business leaders and senior managers increase resilience, innovation, and growth.
Since then, Accu has gone from strength to strength. In its first financial year following Martin’s completion of the course, turnover rose 50 per cent to £12m and he is now looking to more than triple the size of the business, targeting a turnover of £40m within the next three years.
In addition to 12 SME-specific modules, the Help to Grow: Management Course also includes peer-to-peer group work and 10 hours of one-to-one support from a mentor throughout the programme. At the time of joining the course, Martin was introducing the 4-day working week across his workforce and describes the support of his peers to navigate this structural change as “invaluable”.
Martin Ackroyd, co-founder and CEO of Accu, said: “I was one of the first Help to Grow: Management graduates and, three years on, it’s clear to see just how much of an impact it's had on my business. Like many entrepreneurs, I didn’t have any formal training, I just started with £200 in the bank and simply got stuck in. I learnt as I went along and have been able to grow our headcount by 50 per cent year on year over the last decade.
“While business was good, you still ask if there’s more you could be doing for you and your team. I knew I needed greater knowledge in areas such as finance and HR – and that’s exactly what Help to Grow: Management provided me with.
“My advice to anyone considering the course is to do it. It is so rich that you can’t possibly implement everything all at once – but I think that’s fantastic. I’m still returning to ideas and plans I made during those 12 weeks and looking at ways to finetune our operations. I’ve no doubt that this course has played a significant role in accelerating our growth over the last two years and will continue to do so.”
Michael Hayman MBE, Chair, Small Business Charter, said: “The benefits of the Help to Grow: Management Course don’t end after you’re the 12 week course finishes, and Martin’s experience clearly shows this.
“The knowledge and experience shared by our wide range of SME experts is designed to help leaders and senior managers on a mission to increase productivity, address challenges head on, and create resilient businesses that grow. Martin was already an incredibly successful entrepreneur but it’s inspiring to see him confidently lean into his business instinct and push towards such exciting growth targets.”
Business leaders can find out more about Help to Grow: Management and sign up for the course in their area by visiting: www.smallbusinesscharter.org/help-to-grow-management.
About Help to Grow: Management:
Help to Grow: Management is a 12-week course designed to support business leaders and their senior managers to increase resilience, innovation and growth within their organisations.
Delivered by Small Business Charter accredited business schools, the course is available in more than 50 locations across the UK and is 90% government funded. It is designed to fit around existing work and personal commitments, providing business leaders with more than 50 hours of online and in person training including 10 hours of one-to-one mentoring.
Individuals completing the course automatically join the Help to Grow: Management Alumni Network, where they have access to exclusive events, content and partner offers, as well as the support of a UK-wide peer network.
The Small Business Charter, which oversees Help to Grow: Management, is an award for the UK’s world-class business schools. The Charter was developed by Lord Young, the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, and the Chartered Association of Business Schools to celebrate business schools that play an effective role in supporting the UK’s 5.8m SMEs and their local economies by extension.