Ones to watch: Entrepreneur's new firm raises £1m overnight

A new force in the UK’s drive to a low-carbon future is emerging in Gloucestershire. From scratch to multi-million turnover in 18 months, plus £1m of investment overnight. Bob Holt is at it again.

Dear readers,

Welcome to the third edition of The Raikes Journal of the week.

Today we lead with a piece on a firm that released two very exciting announcements this week, not least that it raised a cool £1 million for growth almost overnight.

But put that together with who is at the helm of the business, and his track record, and the prospect looks even more exciting.

Which is why our standfirst talks about a new force emerging in Britain’s drive towards a low-carbon future.

Are we talking about a business that will in the near future challenge for a spot in Gloucestershire’s Top 100 Businesses, the list of firms with the biggest turnovers in the county that we track here at Raikes?

Time will tell, but the businessman leading the emerging company has form has been there and done it before, and he certainly seems to have the backing of investors too.

When it comes to ones to watch, this business should be on your list.

Have a great weekend.

Best regards,

Andrew Merrell (editor).

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Briefing notes…

💷💷💷 The billionaire Pears family has invested in Cheltenham. According to Completely Retail News the company Pears Property, which acts on behalf of the family - one of the biggest property investment firms in the UK - has bought the Gateway Retail Park on Tewkesbury Road. The news website says the detail was “for a total consideration of £8,860,000, reflecting a net initial yield of 7.4 per cent”. Tenants at the park, off the A4019, include M&S, Next, Sainsbury's, Dunelm and B&M.

🏗️ As Gloucester City Council sought to explain just what was happening with the sale and redevelopment of one of the landmark dockside warehouses, a whisper emerges it could become new student accommodation. Council chiefs have been in the process of selling their former offices at Herbert, Kimberley and Philpotts since 2003, when the sale was first approved. We now know that nothing has moved on because of delays in the planning system and why it probably won’t become a hotel anymore. More here.

🗳️ More nominations than ever before came in for this year’s Believe in Gloucester Awards, giving the judges picking the short list something to think about. Now’s your chance to vote. From small independent businesses to community champions, the awards aim to showcase the very best of the city and are backed once again by headline sponsors WSP Solicitors and Gloucester Quays. The event, which is organised by Gloucester BID, which represents the city’s business improvement district, celebrates the businesses, people and organisations that make the city special. You can see all the nominations and find the link to vote here.

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Things to do this weekend…

Saturday:

👏🏽 Gloucester History Festival runs from today until Sunday 21. Frank Skinner, Alice Roberts, Celia Imrie, Alan Johnson, Lyse Doucet, David Olusoga, Olivette Otele, Jeremy Hunt, Michael Heseltine, Greg Jenner, Vince Cable and Peter Frankopan are just some of Britain’s top historians, actors, broadcasters and authors at this year’s festival. More here.

🥳 Gloucestershire Pride at Gloucester Park. Described as “a spectacular line-up of talent” on the main stage and cabaret stage, plus community zones, inspiring talks, community meet-ups, and more. From noon to 7.30pm. Pride march from 11:15 - 12:30 from Gloucester Cathedral.

🎶 Dance music icons Artful Dodger, supported by Chaka, play The Sub Rooms, Stroud, this evening from 7.30pm. More here.

Sunday:

🏡 Open house and gardens at Westonbirt House. A guided tour of the Grade 1-listed home of the Holford family and its stunning gardens. From 10.30am to 4.30pm. More here.

🚜🐴🐶 Frampton Country Fair - “the UK’s best county fair” - at Frampton on Severn. Held in 30 acres of beautiful parkland of Frampton Court Estate, this is one of the last truly traditional country fairs. More here.

🌳👣 If you have children and like reading good books to them, chances are you’re familiar with Stick Man, by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler. Enjoy the last day of Westonbirt Arboretum's Stick Man trail. An interactive family experience. More here.

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* The Raikes Journal is a digital magazine and community interest company whose supporters believe, like us, that journalism about Gloucestershire is worth keeping alive. Everything you read here - original stories about our county - is made possible by our incredible Founding Partners: QuoLux, Willans LLP, Gloucestershire College, Merrell People and Randall & Payne; our sponsors, Founding Members and wonderful paying subscribers.

If you upgrade to paid you’ll be part of this CIC too. We’re dedicated to championing the county, its businesses, charities, education and training providers, and to creating an even stronger community. If you upgrade to paid you’ll be able to see past the paywalls often put on our 2cnd and 3rd email editions of the week, that lock our archive after two weeks and our Top 100 Businesses in Gloucestershire series. You’ll be able to comment on our stories too.

Usually you can sign up for just £2.30 a week - or £1.80 a week if two or more people sign up at once. Or go all in and become one of our Founding Partners or Founding Members!

But we’re currently running this offer to make it even cheaper (just £1.60 a week for a year!!).

For every person you refer to The Raikes Journal’s email service you get points towards a free membership allowing you to see beyond our paywalls. Please do sign up (free or otherwise), send the referral link to a friend or colleague, and help us grow.

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Ones to watch: Entrepreneur's new firm raises £1m overnight

A new force in the UK’s drive to a low-carbon future is emerging in Gloucestershire. From scratch to multi-million turnover in 18 months, plus £1m of investment overnight. Bob Holt is at it again.

There was a brilliant window into how to drive growth and build a publically listed company this week as the latest business plugging into the expertise of Bob Holt OBE released its trading results for the first six months of 2025.

And then hot on the heels of those unaudited interim results (covering the half year to 30 June 2025) the business, EARNZ plc, was announcing more exciting news.

That being it had also raised £1 million with a successful share placement as investors came forward to back what the Gloucestershire-based businessman and his team is up to.

Holt became a legend in the City of London and beyond after creating the giant Gloucestershire-headquartered housing services business Mears, growing it from a modest firm to a business which today has a turnover of £1.13 billion and an order book of £3 billion.

He stood down as chairman in 2019, but that success with Mears and other businesses since means his leadership remains in-demand and his name continues to give investors confidence that a safe pair of hands is at the tiller.

And those hands are currently steering EARNZ plc, a business with the same resigistered office address - St James House, St James Square, Cheltenham - as one of Holt’s long-standing collaborators, BPE Solicitors.