Business advisory firm launches scheme to help SMEs grow

Programme to feature mentors from Applegreen and O’Briens Sandwich Bar

Dublin Chamber chief executive Mary Rose Burke and Crowe Horwath managing partner Naoise Cosgrove at an event to mark the launch of the Pinnacle programme. Photograph: Shane O’Neill
Dublin Chamber chief executive Mary Rose Burke and Crowe Horwath managing partner Naoise Cosgrove at an event to mark the launch of the Pinnacle programme. Photograph: Shane O’Neill

Business advisory firm Crowe Horwath has partnered with Dublin Chamber on a new scheme designed to help small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) scale up.

The Pinnacle programme will feature mentoring from eight people who have built businesses, including Applegreen chief executive Bob Etchingham and Camile Thai and O'Briens Sandwich Bar founder Brody Sweeney.

The initiative, which will begin in September and run until March 2018, is now accepting applications from interested SMEs.

The programme is aimed at businesses that have a turnover of at least €1 million and employ at least 10 staff.

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Crowe Horwath managing partner Naoise Cosgrove said SMEs encountered many challenges in scaling their businesses in “an increasingly complex business environment” and that owner-managers needed more support from people who had been there before them.

Themes of the programme include how to access funding at each business stage, how to retain senior talent and how to manage succession in family businesses.

“It is clear from engaging with our members that a key area of support our SME community requires is advice in scaling their business and maximising value for their owners,” said Dublin Chamber chief executive Mary Rose Burke.

Crowe Horwath has 14 partners and more than 150 staff in its Dublin office. The Irish practice is an independent member of accountancy network Crowe Horwath International, which has more than 200 firms in 130 countries.