9:30pm Monday 12th April 2010
A businessman whose company is worth £20million has been crowned Enterprising Young Brit at a glittering event in London.
Antony Chesworth, 29, went £25,000 in debt to set up his shopping business ekmpowershop.com.
In seven years, the company, based in Commerical Road,Darwen, has become the market leader in UK ecommerce with 17,000 customers using their services to set up their own on-line store.
And his success has meant he has been able to indulge his dream of owning high performance cars including a Porsche, Aston Martin and Ferrari.
He said: “I had the idea when I was still at Lancaster University studying computer science. It was just as dot com businesses had really taken off and I realised how much people were spending online”, said the former Habergham High School pupil, from the Harle Syke area of Burnley.
“Back then there were only costly options if you wanted to set up an online shop. Now for £20 a month, we sort that out for you, it’s basically renting an empty shop off us, but online.”
Antony said he was “genuinely shocked” to be presented with the trophy for Enterprising Young Brit by Lord Mandleson.
He said: “It just goes to show what you can achieve.
“I racked up serious debt getting this off the ground, I was on the dole. I built it up cold-calling customers and only after about four years did it start making money. Then I employed my first member of staff and it all snowballed.
“Where I used to live in Burnley, there was a Michelin factory that used to give out development funds, but they refused me, saying it would never work.
“Now Michelin are one of my customers.”
Other high-profile customers include Lotus cars, ITV, Madame Tussards and the 02 arena.
Anthony said: “I’ve gone from being a poor man to being a rich man.
“I’ve always liked cars. It used to annoy me watching Top Gear knowing I couldn’t afford the cars they were test driving.
“For about seven years I had a Citroen Saxo, but then I got a Lotus Elise, a Porsche, an Aston Martin V8 Vantage and a Ferrari F430.
“I’ve also got a house in Burnley and one in Polton-le-Fyle with it’s own lake.”
Antony has now bought premises in Deansgate, Manchester, and also hopes to expand to Preston, employing at least five more to his already 30-strong workforce.
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