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22.

December

2014.

Briggs Equipment recruits conquer ‘Dragons’ and raise £1

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Ref: PR362loc

Date: 22nd December 2014

Briggs Equipment recruits conquer ‘Dragons' and raise £10,000

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New Sales Development Executives working for Cannock-based materials handling equipment specialist Briggs Equipment took part in Million Makers, a major fundraising initiative by The Prince's Trust, and have raised almost £10,000 for the youth charity.

The team had to brave a ‘Dragon's Den' style interview with representatives from the local business community before coming up with inventive ways of turningseed funding of £1,500

into £10,000.

Over the past six months the Briggs Equipment team has been mentored and coached by the company's senior managers, as it competed against teams of aspiring entrepreneurs from around the UKwith the overall aim of collectively raising £1million to help The Prince's Trustgive disadvantaged young people the practical and financial support they need to move into work, education or training.

Back in March the team members were interviewed by a panel of experts at The Vaults in Birmingham, during which they pitched their three-part plan to Calum Nisbet from DBS Law,Lee Currier from RBS, Barbara Wilcox from The Prince's Trust and Briggs Equipment's own CEO, Richard Close.

Having secured the £1,500 they needed to put their money-making ideas to practice, the sales development executives got their project underway by creating and selling ‘Revival Rations', office survival kits containing daily essentials such as stationery and tea bags. More money was raised by organising and selling tickets to special events, including a Daytona track day at the UK's premier karting venue, while the third and final part of the project saw the team give up their weekends to prepare used forklift trucks for a series of trade auctions. In total the team raised £9,942.

Sales Development Executive Daniel Wood, who took the lead on the Million Makers project, said: "Senior managers assisted us in drawing up a business plan and encouraged us as we honed our skills, and because we needed to call on support from various departments and build relationships along the way, I feel the Million Makers initiative has really helped us to integrate into the business.

"As each of us discovered our strengths, which we intend to put to good use in our day-to-day work, we developed as individuals, as a team and as friends."

The Million Makers challenge to see who could develop the most profitable mini enterprise closed at the end of September, and the efforts of teams from across the West Midlands were recognised at a major Celebrate Success event at Aston Villa Football Club. During the past 12 months The Prince's Trust has supported 4,500 young people across the West Midlands and the event was an opportunity to thank all fundraisers and show them how the money is being used to change lives.

Commenting on the team's achievements, Briggs Equipment's CEO Richard Close said: "As a business we are committed to giving something back to the local community, so I am very proud of our team, which has played a key role in helping The Prince's Trust achieve its goal.

"The Briggs team of Million Makers not only seized the opportunity to develop their team working skills, creativity and negotiation expertise, but also demonstrated a competitive spirit and a keenness to meet difficult challenges head on, which will benefit both them and the company in the long term."

Briggs Equipment has pledged £100,000 to support The Prince's Trust's work between now and 2018. The company has become a patron of the youth charity and will take part in major projects each year, with Million Makers being its chosen initiative for 2014.

Further information about The Prince's Trust and the Million Makers initiative is available at http://www.princes-trust.org.uk

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Editor's Notes

Briggs Equipment UK Ltd is the world's largest global distributor of Hyster and Yale Europe Materials Handling equipment. Briggs products give you outstanding quality, productivity and reliability to ensure maximum uptime for your business; from a global manufacturer. From outright purchase, lease or short-term hire, Briggs delivers unique flexibility and contracts to suit your business needs. Our dedicated account managers, expert back-office support and 600 multi-skilled engineers all have the same goal of giving you an unrivalled customer experience and adding value through unique, tailored solutions.

View all of Briggs Equipment's latest news on theBriggs online media centre.

View this release on Briggs Equipment's online media centre

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