A Warwickshire-based leadership coaching and consulting company has expanded across four continents after accessing international trade support.
The Forton Group, based in Willoughby, Warwickshire, provides leadership and executive training programmes to senior managers, middle managers and graduates.
And the company is now helping to develop leaders across the globe after the UKTI international trade team at the Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce helped it to extend its reach.
The firm initially accessed the passport to export programme, which helps to give firms their first taste of global trade.
It has since moved on to the gateway to global growth programme, which offers support to those companies which have already tested the water in exporting.
The Forton Group now has more than 200 associates around the world, who help deliver leadership and executive training programmes in countries including Italy, Canada, Australia, Chile and Turkey.
Bob Hughes, MD Europe and global chairman at The Forton Group, said: “Our challenge has been to continue to grow, without overstretching, in a difficult economic climate.
“We believed we had the potential to develop and expand internationally and we were keen to make our leadership programmes accessible to companies around the world.
“We had the know-how and the positive attitude. The Chamber supported and encouraged us by delivering export support programmes. They have provided us with invaluable support and advice through a number of seminars and project based training. This has enabled us to continue to expand successfully across a number of countries.
“We are thrilled to have established partnerships with a variety of firms and charities that have received professional training. They are now delivering our leadership training courses in their local language to their clients.”
Mick Page, head of international trade at Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce, encouraged more firms to export.
“The Forton Group has been extremely successful in their development and expansion internationally and we are pleased that both passport to export and gateway to global growth have helped them at different stages of their development,” he said.
“The company first enrolled on our 12-month passport to export support programme and then were then able to progress onto the gateway to global growth programme which provides master classes designed to help support companies with two to ten years’ export experience.
“They are a great example of a knowledge-based business with completely open scope for international markets.”