The Introduction Company

While many dating agencies throughout the UK are being forced out of business by competition from online services and speed dating specialists, Lesley Brewer's venture, The Introduction Company, is bucking the trend.

Having started the business in an office at Brawby House, Brawby, near Malton, with a handful of clients from North Yorkshire, she now has 300 on her books, with an average of 20 joining every month.

Lesley needs them given that her success rate for women is 98 per cent by the second introduction and 70 per cent for men (who appear to be choosier), but there is a new category which is flocking to her agency.

She has opened her doors to gay men and women, in response to a number of requests.

"This is an area which is particularly under-serviced by the dating industry. I believe I am one of the first people in the North to offer this type of service to the gay community," she says.

Now, flushed with her success as a finalist in the Best Business Entrepreneur category in the recent tenth anniversary awards sponsored by Business Link York and North Yorkshire, Lesley is aiming for two categories in The Press Business Awards 2007.

She is pitching for both Small Business Of The Year and the Women In Enterprise Awards.

Lesley attributes her success to the months of research before starting up the business in January 2006. "It revealed a niche in the market for an introduction company in the North of England which would appeal to the more discerning professional, or recently-retired person, as opposed to the modern online and speed dating agencies," she says.

As a member of the Association of British Introduction Agencies, she operates a thorough security checking and selection process. The fees total about £490, which includes a £250 registration fee plus £240 liable after the first introduction, but valid for up to six introductions. Clients rarely get beyond the second get-together.