By GEMMA BROWN gemma.brown@hexham-courant.co.uk

Published at 06:12, Friday, 26 February 2010

A MILLIONAIRE entre-preneur who originates from Stocksfield has started a charity aimed at encouraging young people to develop a mind for business.

Richard Harpin

The Enterprise Trust, has been launched by founder and group chief executive of HomeServe plc, Richard Harpin.

Mr Harpin was born in Hexham, spent his childhood in Stocksfield and is one of the sons of long-serving 1st Stocksfield Cub Scout leader, Philippa Harpin.

The emphasis of the trust is on entrepreneurship and it will help to provide young business people with advice and resources to plan and prepare for launching their own venture.

As part of the launch, Richard is publishing a book called A Mind for Business, which tells the story of how, by the age of 20, he had set up and run five businesses. It also details how HomeServe, one of the UK’s largest home emergency businesses, has grown from a small, joint venture with South Staffordshire Water in 1993, to a business worth over £1 billion today.

All proceeds from the book will go to The Enterprise Trust and as part of the trust's launch, free copies are being sent to schools all around the country. These will be complemented by dedicated teaching resources and exercises linked to chapters of the book on the charity’s website.

Richard is also planning to work with key youth organisations, such as the Scout Association, to look at further ways to encourage entrepreneurship.

Richard (45), who now lives near York with his wife, Kate, and their three children, said: “As a life-long entrepreneur I am passionate about encouraging entrepreneurship.

“I have for a number of years visited schools in my spare time to talk to pupils about my experiences and how they might start their own businesses.

“I have always wanted to do more but can not possibly visit every school in the country.

“The Enterprise Trust, together with the new book and teaching pack, is a way to broaden the reach of these efforts.

“These are, however, just the first steps. Over the coming months we will be working towards further initiatives and developments to encourage the next generation of entrepreneurs.”

HomeServe demerged from the water company in April 2004 and listed independently as a FTSE 250 company in the Support Services Sector.

Headquartered in Walsall, in the West Midlands, HomeServe currently employs over 3,000 people and has major sites in Preston, Weston-Super-Mare and Banbury, in addition to an international operation spanning France, Spain, Belgium and the US.

Richard's background, after completing an economics degree at York University, was in brand management with Procter & Gamble, followed by management consultancy with Deloitte.

He then set up his own consultancy firm, which gave him his initial contact with South Staffordshire Water.

The book, A Mind for Business, will be initially available at WHSmith, Waterstones and online at Amazon.

For more information about The Enterprise Trust, visit www.TheEnterpriseTrust.org

Published by http://www.hexhamcourant.co.uk