Service Business of the Year 2017

Start-up name: Ventro Group
Founders: Harvey and Ross Melvin
Started in: April 2014
Based in: Plymouth
Business description: Passive fire safety specialists; providing auditing, installation and maintenance

Ventro Group’s mission is to ‘promote passive fire safety to raise awareness and reduce risk’. It’s a mission that professional organisations, and the Startups Awards judges, have quickly bought into.

Awarded the title of Service Business of the Year, succeeding 2016 winner Housekeep, Ventro has become the go-to for UK businesses looking to comply with fire safety. And, in light of the recent Grenfell Tower tragedy, it offers a service that has never been more important – or timely.

From conducting initial surveys of buildings through to installation and maintenance works to put any defects right, Ventro’s 360 offering has seen it become the trusted fire safety specialist for the NHS and the Ministry of Defence.

Demand for its services has been so high that, in the space of three years, Young Gun founders Harvey and Ross Melvin have scaled headcount to 30 and moved their operations from a portacabin to new, fully-refurbished 6,500 sq. ft. headquarters in Plymouth, alongside regional offices in London, Warrington and Nottingham.

With no outward investment, Ventro has already proven itself to be a sustainable business and revenues are rising at a rapid pace as clients benefit from the accredited fire safety protection it provides.

The judges deemed Ventro to be a service business that’s here to stay, but they were also impressed by the services offered by dog food subscription start-up tails.com (awarded Highly Commended Service Business of the Year), and learner drive app miDrive (winner of Commended Service Business of the Year).