EY Entrepreneur of the Year finalist: Maurice Healy, Healy Group

A well-known businessman and philanthropist, Maurice moved from his native Cork to Dublin in 1971, where he began his professional career working at a haulage company. He set up the Healy Group, a food ingredients and chemicals distributor with turnover of about €100 million per annum, in 1985.

The group’s customer base ranges from small, artisan food producers to global corporations. A family-run business, it employs about 100 people.

In addition to the Healy Group, the family also has its own capital investment company, Gainline Capital, which has its own gluten-free porridge brand, Grandma Henvey's. It has also invested in the Dublin Cookie Company, Organic Little Ones, Chilli Shack, PlzAdvize and Couverture, a premium desserts company based in Dublin.

What vision/lightbulb moment prompted you to start-up in business?

The early 1980s were difficult times for the Irish economy and I saw an opportunity to introduce a new model focussed totally on customer needs.

Describe your business model and what makes your business unique:

Family-run and operated yet on a worldwide scale. Customers can benefit for our personal service yet global reach, contacts and expertise.

What is your greatest business achievement to date?

Gaining offices in UK/Shanghai/Gennep. Growing our global presence.

What was your “back-to-the-wall” moment and how did you overcome it?

In 2005 we lost a major contract with one of our key suppliers which represented 50 per centof our turnover. To overcome this we sold 50 per cent of Healy Group UK to our German partners, Emsland Group.

What moment/deal would you cite as the “game changer” or turning point for the company?

We sold two UK-based chemical manufacturing businesses in the past five years. With this cash injection we were able to invest in new food producing companies in both Ireland and China.

What were the best and the worst pieces of advice you received when starting out?

The best piece of advice I got was to appoint one of my suppliers to my board and invite our banks to sit at all board meetings.

The worst advice was to “stay small to stay in control, and trust nobody”.

What numbers do you look at every day in your business?

I am not a great numbers person, however getting my management accounts in five days after months end is essential.

To what extent does your business trade internationally and what are your plans?

We are trading 50 per cent of our total group turnover in the UK and Ireland. Mainland Europe, North America and Africa are our new growth markets.

Describe your growth funding path.

The company funds all growth from profits and we do not issue dividends.

Where would you like your business to be in three years?

I would like my four sons to manage all day-to-day operations, and for turnover to double.

Have you started to feel the effects of the economic upturn within your sector/industry?

Last year we turned over a record amount for our business. We increased our workforce by 25 per cent, hiring additional food technicians, business and marketing leads.

What is the hardest thing you have ever done in business?

At the beginning of the recession, we downsized to protect the future of the business. This required letting good people go.

What was your biggest business mistake?

Buying a transport company in the UK without examining in due diligence the people component.

How will your market look in three years?

While we are always open to further growth in other areas, I believe there will be more focus on blends for Healy Group in the coming years. Our technical team are experts in combining functional ingredients into blends to meet customer requirements (such as high-fibre bread, phosphate-free brines, gluten-free bread etc), and we are now looking to secure our own blending facilities in the UK.

What would make you a better leader?

Patience and more tolerance.