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Crain's 40 under 40

Julie Besbrode, 37

Director

Fresh

Biggest achievement: Clinching a £1.2m contract with Marks & Spencer when the company was just seven months old.

Current business goal: For Fresh to become the most successful, full service communications group in the North West. And to develop the Fresh Rewards and Fresh Broadcast divisions.

After eight years as an account director at a London design agency and three years as client services director for a Manchester event company, Julie Besbrode joined forces with Nick Porter to create events and video company Fresh in 2004.

In its first year the company reached a turnover of £1.25m. That figure hit £3.68m in 2007, and is projected to rise to £5.5m in 2008. The company employs 43 people and at the end of 2007, acquired creative communications agency Fullfatmedia whose owner, Lee Ashton, joined as account director.

In April 2008, it launched seven stand-alone divisions: events, design, video, interactive, rewards, broadcast and advertising, as well as rebranding itself to become Fresh Group. Besbrode and Porter are considering an AIM flotation within the next 18 months to support the company’s growth and help finance further acquisitions.

Separately, Besbrode set up FIN Partnership in 2006, which buys off plan developments before renting them out. In January 2007, FIN made its first purchase when it invested £1.66m in a 9,000 sq ft unit at Cheadle Royal Business Park.