We’re delighted to be welcoming Haleys Business Advisers to Lightfoot Green on Saturday as our Main Match Sponsors for the 1st XV game with Sedgley Park.
Haleys Business Advisers have been long time sponsors of the club and this year took up the main shirt sponsorship of the 1st XV kit.
Haleys Managing Director Tim Haley with 1st XV captain Andy Napier
Ahead of the game we caught up with Managing Director Tim Haley to ask him a few questions.
Who are Haleys Business Advisers and what services do you offer?
We provide financial, taxation and commercial expertise to established business owners in order to help them increase profitability, maximise capital value, protect their assets and enjoy life to the full.
Our business advisory services include:
- Strategic business planning
- Exit and succession planning
- Identifying areas for profit improvement
- Producing detailed management information
- Corporate finance
- Corporate and personal tax planning
- Statutory audit and accountancy compliance
Why did Haleys decide to take up the main shirt sponsorship of Preston Grasshoppers this season?
We see it as a great opportunity to develop our brand. We have been on a waiting list for a couple of years after expressing interest and when Booths decided not to renew their sponsorship we jumped at the opportunity. A huge amount of people use Hoppers for all sorts of sporting, business and entertainment events and we are confident that our name and reputation will grow through our association with the club.
We have also made a point of forging a relationship with the 1st XV squad and management which has been very interesting in terms of getting to know young guys trying to forge a career for themselves outside of rugby. We have a wide range of business contacts and we always want to help players and their careers where possible.
What role does Haleys play in the Hoppers Business Network and what would you say to other businesses who may be looking to get involved?
We helped start the HBN with fellow Hoppers stalwarts Michael Lough, Mike Bailey and John Chesworth and their respective businesses Blue Wren, Baileys Financial Services and Harrison Drury – a few years ago with Richard Ellis of Hoppers. We all attended lots of networking events and we suddenly realised the untapped power of organising a network based around members of Hoppers and their associates. This had the added advantage of providing additional revenue streams for the club by hosting events and bringing along people who had never been down to the club before.
The ‘Hoppers promotional video’ has also been a great success in articulating what the club and its history is all about.
The HBN has been a great success and continues to grow and I would strongly recommend business owners associated with the club to get involved to promote their products and services.
As a long-time member of the club and more recently sponsor, what are your hopes for the future of the club?
The club recently decided against the idea of relocating and staying where it is and I think this was a very wise decision. Moving to a more remote location with money in the bank could well have changed the whole spirit of the club and possibly tempted us to start throwing money at moving ourselves up the national leagues. In my opinion, this is a hugely expensive exercise with little commercial return – even more so since the RFU slashed payments to national league sides.
The club has had to rely on the youth talent coming through to the first team and I think that is now evident. There are certainly a number of lads that came through in the same age group as my son Michael who are now playing first team at just 21 including the likes of Harrison Moulding, Tom Hurst, Dan Burns, Luke Procter – to name but a few. Recent plans have been drawn up to improve the transition and development of players from mini/juniors/youth to senior rugby and this has got to be the way forward.
So all this, together with plans to upgrade the facilities at the club, and retaining the best chef in the NW – Allan – all paints a very rosy picture for the future.
Massive congratulations to the management team, staff and members for looking after Hoppers!
What is your prediction for Saturday and the rest of the season?
Tough game on Saturday. I’ve got a soft spot for Sedgley. One of their prop’s Max Ashcroft is a great player, friend of my youngest lad and a client! I’ve watched Max since his Hutton GS days. He now runs with, Max Skofic (Waterloo), a massively successful Talking Rugby Union website TRU and sports clothing business Red Panda.
That apart our opponents are having a good season and their pack is going well.
On the other side of the coin, Hoppers have now picked up a couple of handy wins and I think we are a bit of a bogey side for SP. We also have great firepower from 9 to 15. So I’m predicting a very closely fought home win. Let’s hope the rain stays away to firm up that pitch!
We hope that Tim, his colleagues, clients and guests enjoy a fantastic day at Lightfoot Green.
