Matthew Riley
Encyclopedia
Matthew Riley is a British entrepreneur and the founder and chief executive officer of Daisy Group plc, the AIM listed organisation that provides unified communications to businesses in the UK.
In 2011 Alan Sugar
enlisted the help of Riley to assist him in deciding the winner in the BBC
TV series The Apprentice. The 37-year-old was one of four people tasked with interviewing the final four candidates.
Riley is notable for his success as an entrepreneur, named Ernst and Young’s Young Entrepreneur of the Year in 2007 and more famously his success in the Bank of Scotland http://www.bankofscotland.co.uk/corporate/ Corporate Entrepreneur Challenge where he was awarded £5m in interest free funding and mentoring from Sir Philip Green.
, Lancashire
, in 1974, he attended Ss John Fisher and Thomas More High School, Colne
.
Leaving school at 16 years of age, Riley joined Burnley-based office equipment firm FH Brown and began a career as a technician, undertaking a YTS
apprenticeship. On successful completion of his YTS Riley moved into a sales role within the firm, where he stayed until 1997, before joining German-based communications firm DeTeWe.
Riley set up his first company in 1999, a consultancy company specialising in all aspects of communications supply. He quickly built a client list including Virgin Cinemas, Woolworths and CWS Travelcare. This company was sold 18 months after establishment and Riley went on to build and sell two further successful limited companies connected with the communications sector. These included a recruitment firm and a specialist cabling company.
, Riley established Daisy Communications, his fourth company, in 2001.
Based in his hometown of Nelson, Lancashire
, Daisy was created to provide communications services to small and medium sized businesses.
Having recognised a gap in the market for independent fixed telephone line service providers selling communication services to small to medium enterprises in the UK, it was envisaged that Daisy would be a service provider that focussed on delivering high quality to its customers, offering a one-stop-shop for telecommunications offering Voice, Data, Mobile and Systems, allowing customers to deal with a single supplier for all their communications.
As a private company Daisy Communications grew rapidly. Daisy was named the fastest growing technology company in the UK (Sunday Times Tech Track 2005). and has been repeatedly placed in Deloitte’s Fast50.
In July 2009 the business floated on AIM following the reverse takeover (under AIM rules) of Freedom4 Group plc. The newly combined organisation was named Daisy Group plc and through the reversal £83m was raised.
The majority shareholder, Riley became CEO of the Daisy Group.
The Group has a proven buy and build strategy and has completed a significant number of acquisitions, both prior to and post flotation, as Riley looks to consolidate what is deemed to be a fragmented telecoms reseller market. To date the company has completed 35 acquisitions. Daisy currently has 75,000 business customers and employs 1,300 at offices throughout the UK.
This year the format for the show changed with four finalists instead of the usual two, with Alan Sugar choosing the winner in a gruelling interview round. This year’s series has seen contestants fighting it out to win a £250,000 prize fund that will be invested in their business, with the winner sharing a 50/50 stake in the company with mentor and backer Alan Sugar. The other interviewers were Sugar's former sidekick Margaret Mountford
, business troubleshooter, Claude Littner
and magazine boss Mike Soutar.
and BHS boss Sir Philip Green
.
Since being awarded the accolade Sir Philip has provided business advice for both Riley and his business.
In 2011 Alan Sugar
Alan Sugar
Alan Michael Sugar, Baron Sugar is a British entrepreneur, media personality and political advisor. From humble origins in the East End of London, Sugar now has an estimated fortune of £770m , and was ranked 89th in the Sunday Times Rich List 2011...
enlisted the help of Riley to assist him in deciding the winner in the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
TV series The Apprentice. The 37-year-old was one of four people tasked with interviewing the final four candidates.
Riley is notable for his success as an entrepreneur, named Ernst and Young’s Young Entrepreneur of the Year in 2007 and more famously his success in the Bank of Scotland http://www.bankofscotland.co.uk/corporate/ Corporate Entrepreneur Challenge where he was awarded £5m in interest free funding and mentoring from Sir Philip Green.
Early life and career
Born in BurnleyBurnley
Burnley is a market town in the Burnley borough of Lancashire, England, with a population of around 73,500. It lies north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River Brun....
, Lancashire
Lancashire
Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...
, in 1974, he attended Ss John Fisher and Thomas More High School, Colne
Colne
Colne is the second largest town and civil parish in the Borough of Pendle in Lancashire, England, with a population of 20,118. It lies at the eastern end of the M65, 6 miles north-east of Burnley, with Nelson immediately adjacent, in the Aire Gap with two main roads leading into the Yorkshire...
.
Leaving school at 16 years of age, Riley joined Burnley-based office equipment firm FH Brown and began a career as a technician, undertaking a YTS
Youth Training Scheme
The Youth Training Scheme was the former name in the United Kingdom of an on-the-job training course for school leavers aged 16 and 17, managed by the Manpower Services Commission...
apprenticeship. On successful completion of his YTS Riley moved into a sales role within the firm, where he stayed until 1997, before joining German-based communications firm DeTeWe.
Riley set up his first company in 1999, a consultancy company specialising in all aspects of communications supply. He quickly built a client list including Virgin Cinemas, Woolworths and CWS Travelcare. This company was sold 18 months after establishment and Riley went on to build and sell two further successful limited companies connected with the communications sector. These included a recruitment firm and a specialist cabling company.
Daisy Group plc (Daisy Group)
With a vision for providing an alternative service provider to BTBT Group
BT Group plc is a global telecommunications services company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is one of the largest telecommunications services companies in the world and has operations in more than 170 countries. Through its BT Global Services division it is a major supplier of...
, Riley established Daisy Communications, his fourth company, in 2001.
Based in his hometown of Nelson, Lancashire
Lancashire
Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...
, Daisy was created to provide communications services to small and medium sized businesses.
Having recognised a gap in the market for independent fixed telephone line service providers selling communication services to small to medium enterprises in the UK, it was envisaged that Daisy would be a service provider that focussed on delivering high quality to its customers, offering a one-stop-shop for telecommunications offering Voice, Data, Mobile and Systems, allowing customers to deal with a single supplier for all their communications.
As a private company Daisy Communications grew rapidly. Daisy was named the fastest growing technology company in the UK (Sunday Times Tech Track 2005). and has been repeatedly placed in Deloitte’s Fast50.
In July 2009 the business floated on AIM following the reverse takeover (under AIM rules) of Freedom4 Group plc. The newly combined organisation was named Daisy Group plc and through the reversal £83m was raised.
The majority shareholder, Riley became CEO of the Daisy Group.
The Group has a proven buy and build strategy and has completed a significant number of acquisitions, both prior to and post flotation, as Riley looks to consolidate what is deemed to be a fragmented telecoms reseller market. To date the company has completed 35 acquisitions. Daisy currently has 75,000 business customers and employs 1,300 at offices throughout the UK.
The Apprentice
In the 2011 series of The Apprentice, Riley was one of four guest interviewers to be enlisted, tasked with interviewing the 2011 contestants and advising Lord Sugar on who to fire.This year the format for the show changed with four finalists instead of the usual two, with Alan Sugar choosing the winner in a gruelling interview round. This year’s series has seen contestants fighting it out to win a £250,000 prize fund that will be invested in their business, with the winner sharing a 50/50 stake in the company with mentor and backer Alan Sugar. The other interviewers were Sugar's former sidekick Margaret Mountford
Margaret Mountford
Margaret Mountford is a British lawyer, businesswoman and television personality known for her role in The Apprentice.-Biography:Mountford is originally from Holywood in Northern Ireland...
, business troubleshooter, Claude Littner
Claude Littner
Claude Littner is a British business executive, the current Chairman of Viglen, also known from his appearances on the BBC-produced British version of The Apprentice, interviewing for his former boss Lord Sugar.-Career:...
and magazine boss Mike Soutar.
Sir Philip Green mentoring
After winning £5million interest free funding for his company through the Bank of Scotland Corporate Entrepreneur Challenge, Matthew was also awarded a high profile mentorship with ArcadiaArcadia
Arcadia is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the administrative region of Peloponnese. It is situated in the central and eastern part of the Peloponnese peninsula. It takes its name from the mythological character Arcas. In Greek mythology, it was the home of the god Pan...
and BHS boss Sir Philip Green
Philip Green
Sir Philip Green is a British businessman. Green was born into a Jewish family in 1952, beginning as a businessman at the age of 15. The first and last quoted company Green took lead of was "Amber Day", from which he stepped down as CEO and Chairman in 1992...
.
Since being awarded the accolade Sir Philip has provided business advice for both Riley and his business.