Power player

From a start-up in a bedroom in his South Shields flat, Fokhrul Islam has led Northern Gas and Power to become a global force in the energy industry. Jane Hall hears about the ‘fire in his belly’ which in six years has taken Islam from broke twenty-something to multi-millionaire entrepreneur

It’s not what you expect to see in the reception area of a global company. Yes, there’s the view. A sweeping one along the River Tyne and its famous bridges. But first to catch the eye are dyed ostrich feathers, a Hollywood-style rope barrier, red carpet and 1930s-inspired Burlesque cardboard cut-outs.

The theme continues throughout the open plan office of one of the North East’s fastestgrowing companies; black and red ostrich feathers and strings of glitzy beads adorning desks where staff chat animatedly on the phone. This is the Gateshead HQ of Northern Gas and Power, which helps organisations cut energy bills, consumption and carbon emissions, and which, six years after it was founded, employs 345 people in five nations.

Another 80 or so are being recruited as NGP works to tighten its grip on the energy procurement industry and move into the Asian market with a base in Singapore.

An extravagant sign offers an explanation for the flamboyant decor. The theme for the firm's annual conference at The Boiler Shop in Newcastle is Moulin Rouge and to get everyone in the mood, it’s been rolled out across the office. Based at Baltic Place, NGP not only occupies the East Tower’s entire eighth floor, but has taken the third too, not for more desks, but for fun-filled downtime. Last Christmas, staff enjoyed real life Super Mario racing on mini scooters, with a £2,000 cash prize for the winner. There have been Nerf blaster shootouts and Space Hopper contests.

NGP divides its yearly target by 11 months, and once that is hit – usually by the first week in December – everyone is sent home to enjoy the festive season, returning in January. This is on top of a standard 28 days holiday per year. Staff are rewarded with trips abroad, have access to life coaches and the opportunity to earn uncapped commission that has seen many pay their mortgages off.

Its owner, Fokhrul Islam, knows all 345 staff by name, not just in Gateshead, but at NGP’s operations in Leeds, Paris, the US, Malta and Chennai. All staff have his mobile number and can ring him about anything, personal or business. He doesn’t have his own office, preferring to sit on the shop floor with his team, who genuinely hold him in high regard.

Perhaps it's because he doesn’t see himself as anything special. But for the fickle finger of Fate, this quietly spoken visionary could be any one of the 170 people he employs at Gateshead. One of six brothers and two sisters born in Huddersfield, Islam’s father had moved to the UK from Bangladesh with his then 17-year-old bride seeking a more secure future. Islam was a difficult child and at 12 he was sent to live with an uncle in South Shields because, he says: “We had no money and I was getting into trouble. My parents thought he could help. But after a year he stopped speaking to me. My parents were immigrants and it was tough growing up. There were a lot of arguments and anger over money. My mum had left her dad behind when she was only 17 to come to England, and I can remember that just before he died she had wanted to go back to Bangladesh to see him, but there was no money to send her. She fell into a deep depression after that. I was about eight when one day her sari caught fire while we were at home, and she turned around and said, ‘I want to die.’

“When I was seven I came home from school to find mum and dad arguing, so I went straight into the kitchen and asked if there was anything to eat. Mum looked at me and said, ‘out of all of us, you are the one that is going to fail.’ I thought, ‘you know what? I’m going to go out there and make something of myself.’ I had this fire in my belly to make money and help my family. I wanted to be able to take my mum to Bangladesh, I wanted to buy her a house.”

Destiny was not smiling on Islam’s plans, however. He left school with a handful of GCSEs at Grade C or lower. “The education system is right for 95% of the population, but it wasn’t for me. It didn’t challenge me. It was all about history and geography, and it inhibited my thought processes. There was nothing that appealed to my entrepreneurial side. I was in trouble. A lot.”

He landed a customer service job with BT. “Many people use sales as a stepping stone; I made a conscious decision that sales was something I wanted to do. I made it my focus and as a consequence became very good at it,” Islam says. “As a result of that success I was moved to BT Global, and was very bad at it, but I did learn a lot about business.”

He found himself £35,000 in debt. More sales jobs followed, this time in the energy sector. He was sacked from all of them. He had a talent for identifying problems and thinking outside the box, but managers couldn’t grasp his suggested solutions. “I was out of work. I had no money, and I hadn’t paid my mortgage for months,” Islam recalls. “I thought, if I don’t do something I will lose everything. When you only have £2 in your bank account, it is not inspiration, it is survival that motivates you. So I put a phone in my spare bedroom and started making calls. I got a sale, and that is how Northern Gas and Power started. That opportunity was given to me and I decided I would devote my body and soul to it. I made a simple website and quickly realised that if people could hear activity in the background, they would be more likely to listen, so I got a tape that sounded like a call centre.”

It would be nice to say everything slotted conveniently into place, but energy suppliers refused to deal direct with Islam, so he reached an agreement with a third party firm to issue contracts to customers. By his second year, he was employing people. He moved the operation to North Shields and by himself was bringing in £40,000-£50,000 a month. His projection had been to make £500,000 in his first year. “I got in £650,000,” he says.

In its second year, NGP brought in £1.2m. By the third, £2.6m. It brought in £16m in year four, £32m in year five, and is on track to make £48m globally by the end of 2018. It has contracted more than £100m of business in the last six years, all without any borrowing.

Major suppliers and networks globally now deal direct with NGP. The firm has joined North East England Chamber of Commerce, because, Islam says “it has so many good connections and its finger on the pulse of the region.”

The operation has diversified with NGP ClearVue - a device providing real-time monitoring and the ability to control energy consumption remotely. The hardware was developed by another firm which NGP has bought for £3.7m. Islam says: “We have taken it, improved it and developed smart software. The industrial sector consumes nearly 40% of annual global primary energy use and is responsible for a similar share of worldwide energy-related carbon dioxide emissions. There is considerable potential to reduce the amount of energy used in the manufacture of most commodities. Businesses need real-time reporting.” Smart technology is close to Islam’s heart, and no wonder; the energy sector is changing rapidly and NGP must stay ahead of the game. Currently the business is valued at around £100m. Islam’s plan is to use technology to ratchet that up to £500m in the next five years, by which time he will hopefully have realised his dream of retiring at 40.

He drives a Lamborghini Huracan Spyder and has homes in South Shields, Malta and the US. He’s taken his whole family to Bangladesh, bought his mum the home he said he would, and gives generously to charity. He’s also made many of his employees very wealthy, many of them achieving weekly sales of £38,000 with uncapped commission. “I wake up every morning and think about how fortunate I am to be in this position. Before I went to Bangladesh for the first time I used to complain and think I was entitled to things, then you see kids begging on the roads there. One particularly sticks in my mind. He had no legs and had made himself a cart to push himself around; he chased my cousin for a half-eaten water melon.

“Here if you are poor you still have a home and medical care. In Bangladesh, people die on the street and the public just step over them.”

He may become involved with the Red Cross in a Third World country when he retires. “Or I may only retire from business for two days. I have told myself I will retire at 40. But I haven’t said how long for,” he adds with a mischievous smile, no doubt fully aware that drive like his is unlikely to run out any time soon.