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Anthony Coates-Smith and Alistair Turner are joint Managing Directors of Igloo Thermo-Logistics Ltd the specialist Refrigerated Transport Company acknowledged as the first company to take investment from a successful pitch on Dragons Den deliver a business now valued at over 4million, making the co-founders millionaires along the way.
Anthony is 31 years old, married, and originally from West Yorkshire. After studying accounting and economics at university in Preston he started his career at Coca-Cola Schweppes in London as a sales forecast analyst. After rising through Cokes ranks, Anthony moved to Brakes the UK market leader in foodservice, developing a supply chain team dedicated to specific customer issues and solutions.
Alistair is 31 years old and lives with his partner in St Albans where he grew up. Whilst studying Economics at Surrey University he completed an undergraduate year at Coca-Cola in London where the dynamic duo first met. After completing his studies Alistair worked his way up the corporate ladder in supply chain roles with Sainsburys, Safeway and Comet, before joining Brakes and working with Anthony again.
During their time at Brakes, Anthony and Alistair identified a gap in the market for the provision of high quality refrigerated transport services. Being frustrated customers to existing service providers was incentive enough for the duo to resign senior positions and begin work as young entrepreneurs.
Igloo Thermo-Logistics sprang to life in August 2004. Since launching with 2 vehicles and one employee, Igloo now commands a fleet in excess of 40 vehicles, 60 employees, serving 400 customers and budgeting Y4 turnover of 5M.
In Feb 07 Anthony & Alistair appeared on BBC2s hit show Dragons Den asking for an investment of 160k to develop Igloos national infrastructure. Following intense negotiations, insults, off-camera arguments and the first ever five dragon bidding war, Igloo emerged with two new shareholders in Duncan Bannatyne and Richard Farleigh.
This new investment and PR generated when the show went on air contributed to the phenomenal growth at Igloo. Growth such that the Sunday Times & Daily Telegraph reported in June 07 that Igloo is now worth a staggering 4 Million pounds just 6 months after the investment was made.
The Igloo team are picking up Business awards too.
Anthony Coates Smith was awarded 2007 Yorkshire Young Achiever for Business and Enterprise.
Igloo was winner of Sky News - Start Up Stars 2007 South East awards, and was runner up in the 2007 National Awards.
Anthony & Alistair are energetic and experienced presenters, recently giving a successful talk about entrepreneurship to a multinational audience of MBA alumni from the Cranfield University School of Management.
Anthony & Alistair gave fascinating insight behind the scenes of Dragons Den, they went on to share the crucial differences that have made their enterprise a success so quickly, and the highs and lows of being an entrepreneur.
Cranfield University.
Duncan Bannatyne said of Igloo on Radio 1
Its the best investment I have ever made through Dragons Den
Richard Farleigh said of Anthony & Alistair when hearing their ages
You guys, your business skills are exceptional
Peter Jones said of Anthony & Alistair
I fear your brains may be frozen.. he later u-turned admitting their brains had thawed and making them an offer of investment which they rejected.
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