Entrepreneur Imran Hakim, who won an investment of £140,000 when he faced the panel of “dragons” on Dragon’s Den in 2007, has announced that he has invested £575,000 in a Bristol-based group of companies. The companies set to benefit from Mr. Hakim’s generous investment are all owned by Luke Sartain. They cover a range of fields including SEO (search engine optimisation); data and marketing; hearing aids; and software development.
Imran Hakim is an entrepreneur who now controls the successful Hakim group. He first caught the attention of the business world back in 2007, when he appeared on Dragons Den with his iTeddy product. The educational teddy bear proved to be a huge hit, securing him an investment of £140,000 and a partnership with Dragons Peter Jones and Theo Paphitis.
Which companies will benefit?
The companies benefiting from Mr. Hakim’s investments are owned by Luke Sartain, owner of companies covering areas such as search engine optimisation (upUgo); data and marketing (Lasso); hearing aids (Hearing Supermarket); and software development (GoRank).
This is not the first time in recent months that Mr. Sartain has found himself in the headlines. His firm upUgo attracted media attention in 2020 when it switched its operations to a four-day week. Mr. Hakim’s investment in the group of companies shows that this change to a non-traditional working pattern hasn’t hurt the group’s potential for making a profit. Indeed, the £575,000 investment is set to see the group’s value double from its current value of £10 million within the coming 12 months.
In practical terms, where upUgo is concerned this investment will lead to the creation of approximately 30 new jobs within the digital marketing sphere as the company grows to meet the demands of the 200 new clients it has added to its books. These client companies include famous names such as H Samuel, Hotel Chocolat and W H Smith, among many other household names, as well as smaller, independent companies.
Why are these investments so important?
In the post-COVID world, businesses have been moving their operations increasingly online. With employees working flexibly rather than from office spaces, and consumers choosing to purchase many of their goods entirely from websites, neglecting the importance of the online sphere is a surefire way to see your business get left behind.
In addition, while conducting business across physical borders is likely to become harder post-Brexit, this difficulty does not apply to the borderless country of cyberspace. Regardless as to what services or items you offer, if your SEO isn’t up to scratch and customers can’t find you, you’re likely to run into issues in the near future. This booming importance of online marketing means there’s never been a wiser time to invest in companies that can help you to boost your online presence.
Mr. Hakim commented: “Luke and the team are able to deliver a broad spectrum of digital services that almost every business relies upon for growth. This has been extremely evident during the pandemic, with many businesses accelerating their plans online. In a hyper-digital world, we are delighted to invest in this journey to support the growth ambitions of this exciting business.”
