Peterborough Apprentice winner Joseph Valente vows to share wealth of knowledge

Thirty-year-old Mr Valente says his time with business tycoon Lord Sugar after winning BBC’s The Apprentice in 2015 has given him a host of insights and experience that he hopes will power a new mentoring academy.

Mr Valente revealed his next big step after announcing the sale of his Yaxley-based boiler installation company ImpraGas for an undisclosed sum to entrepreneur Andy Scott of REL Capital.

Now he plans to devote his energies to building up his Trade Mastermind and Coaching Academy to help small business owners, particularly in the construction industry.

He said: ”I was very lucky to be able to go through a journey with The Apprentice and Lord Sugar teaching me to be a businessman working at a very high level.

“I want to share the tremendous amount of knowledge that I have acquired.

“Now I am focused on building up my academy to support people who run small businesses in the construction industry, such as builders and plumbers. They are great at what they do but there is no support for them in areas such as marketing and accounting - vital to building a business.

“I am offering coaching in everything that goes into building a business.

“I created the academy three months ago and I already have £30,000 in sales and subscriptions. It is on course to make a £1 million turnover this year.

He added: “By the end of the year I also hope to start building a property empire based on multi-lets.”

Mr Valente sold ImpraGas, which he created from scratch in 2012 and now employs 70 people with annual sales of £10 million, to Mr Scott, who also recently bought Bison Transport plus Barnack Storage and Logistics, both in Peterborough.

Mr Valente said: “I can’t say how much I sold ImpraGas for except that I’m very happy with the amount.

“The deal was a while in the making.”