WALLASEY man Phil Elliott almost saw his business dream crash in the 2008 downturn, but swift action meant he and his team emerged stronger for the upturn.

The Merseysider joined Booth Dispensers, a specialist provider of cooling equipment for the brewing industry, in 1996 as sales director for the North West family firm.

He said the operation, which had originally been founded in 1965, was a booming business with great potential and a proven track record in its field covering the brewing and soft drinks industries.

Four years after he came on board he said the family owners announced they wanted to exit, through retirement, which inspired him to organise a management buyout as part of a five-strong team of existing directors within the venture.

There was no problem attracting funding support from venture capitalists and in 2000 he and his fellow directors completed their MBO in a significant seven-figure deal.

Mr Elliott said: “We were doing about £6.5m of turnover in 2000 and we employed about 100 staff.”

Not only had they built up an impressive range of clients in the domestic market, but they had also successfully negotiated their way into the overseas markets and had built up a sizeable export business.

But in 2008, said Mr Elliott, all that was to change.

He explained: “A lot of our equipment is exported and July tended to be a quiet period.

“But in 2008 we came back in September, and it stayed quiet – it was just like someone had turned the lights off.”

The marked downturn in trade had an immediate impact as the firm began to crunch its numbers.

Mr Elliott said: “We had to get rid of 10 people almost immediately and since then we have lost people through natural wastage.

“Senior management took a 20% pay cut and the staff took a 10% pay cut.

“We went on to short-time working for one year as the export and UK market slumped.

“It all went totally flat.

“As we know, pubs are closing and people were putting investment plans on hold. It was a very difficult time.

“We got to the point where turnover dropped to £3.6m in 2009 and we were down to 50 staff.”

Then, things got even worse when the firm’s bank decided to withdraw its support. He added: “Our bank pulled the plug so we had to refinance and rebuild the business.”

The directors feared all they had worked for would be in vain and threw themselves into the task of protecting the business and its workforce as financial meltdown afflicted the UK and world economies.

Mr Elliott said: “The management team raised money and put money in ourselves.

“We also bought out the final piece of venture capital because they would not back us, either.

“We invoice finance with a specialist provider, but numerous times we thought we might have to close.”

He admitted: “Myself and the finance director sat down on many occasions thinking the doors were going to close.”

But he said his team had seen changes to their market before the downturn hit and had designed new products and secured new orders, although these weren’t due to begin until 2010.

“So it was a question of getting through to that point,” he added.

A big part of Booth’s new market was export, but it was also winning a lot of business in the pubs market, despite the downturn.

“Our offer is such that we can deliver whatever the customer requires in 48 hours, custom-built.

“In the past, pub companies were buying equipment from China, which could take six months.”

New opportunities also emerged in the vending machine industry for snack and coffee machines.

Mr Elliott praised manufacturing organisation EEF for its help in the turbulent times, particularly on employment issues such as short time working.

And Yorkshire Bank provided new facilities a year ago: “It was easier for us to talk with them because they gave us a relationship manager straight away at a senior level who could make decisions. With the big banks it was a case of ‘computer says no’.”

Talk of another recession remains but Mr Elliott said: “We have a pretty robust order book now and the change of direction in business means we are a lot more resilient.

“We are up to 90 staff and expect to be at over 100 by the end of the year.”