Do it right
A matter of trust
The Government at the time was introducing a lot of
new legislation to try and improve the image of the
waste industry and get rid of the cowboys and I saw
that there were opportunities within the sector. I put
processes in place, quality standards in environmental
protection and health and safety. Recycling also
became more important. No one in the waste industry
had more accreditation than we had at that time.
Seneca is a very trustworthy business. It must be good
for employees to feel they are part of a business that’s
going places, and Seneca really is. We’re already looking
at the next generation of leaders. We also have an
exceptionally good network around the Seneca family.
If a business opportunity comes across the desk, there
will be someone who has the right sector knowledge.
I basically wanted to be able to sleep at night. There are
two ways of doing it, the right way and wrong way, and
I always want to do things the right way.
Power to the people?
Great businesses are all about the people. At Seneca,
at Walker Steel, Neales Waste and at Northcote we
get good people and provide them with best in class
training. I also support the Prince’s Trust, where we
take a great interest in the ideas and energy of young
people who just need a bit of money and mentoring to
get them started.
Food for thought
I’m chairman of Northcote Leisure, which owns
and runs Northcote, a luxury hotel and restaurant in
Langho, Lancashire as well as five sites under the Ribble
Valley Inns brand. Northcote has grown from what was
originally a six bedroom 19th-century country house
in the 1980s to the 26-bedroom property it is today
with a Michelin star restaurant. New facilities include
a private dining room, expanded kitchen, cocktail
bar, cookery school, staff facilities and additional
bedrooms, with Craig Bancroft and Nigel Haworth as
joint Managing Directors. Since we invested in 2012
we’re pleased with the direction of the business.
Richard Matthewman
Richard is a Non-Executive
Director of Seneca Partners
and Chairman of
Northcote Leisure
ONSIDE WINTER 2016 |
01942 271 746
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