Insider going for growth conference

Some of Scotland's most successful business leaders and entrepreneurs will be speaking at a major conference aimed at companies wanting to expand later this year

SOME OF Scotland's most successful business leaders and entrepreneurs will be speaking at a major conference aimed at companies wanting to expand later this year. Among the keynote speakers at the Going for Growth conference at the Hilton Hotel in Glasgow on Friday May 21 are self-made millionaire Shaf Rasul, Colin Temple, the chief executive of Scottish-headquartered retail chain Schuh, and business angel Nelson Gray.

The main themes of the daylong conference - which is being held in association with Scottish Development International - will be mergers and acquisitions, funding, international trading, making the most of technology and business and the environment.

Insider editor Alasdair Northrop says the conference has been designed to provide useful information and advice for ambitious businesses. "We are very aware the current downturn is more of an incentive to shrink than to grow but we believe there are opportunities out there. We are putting together a range of inspiring speakers who will provide plenty of food for thought for everyone attending the conference. It will provide practical ideas, invaluable information and useful contacts enabling companies of all sizes to move to the next stage."

One entrepreneur who knows a lot about business growth is Shaf Rasul, who is currently getting a lot of headlines for his role in the online version of the BBC's Dragons' Den. Rasul, whose fortune was reckoned to be worth £48m in last year's Sunday Times Rich list, has built up a business empire which includes opticalmedia distribution business E-Net Computers and a string of commercial and residential properties. E-Net Computers, which he established in 2000, is now the largest storage media distributor in Europe and one of the biggest buyers of optical storage products in the world.

Rasul has also developed a venture capital investment portfolio worth in the region of £30m which focuses on property, asset management and internet technology. In addition, he has an arm dedicated to management buyins and buy-outs, providing teams with the funding, buying power and exposure to the supply and distribution networks required to expand their business.