A MAN of “steel” has shown his metal by overcoming redundancy and harnessing his skills to launch his own business franchise.

After losing his job with a steel import/export firm, Unsworth man Dave Cooper has set up his own Accounts Assist (Bury) operation and turned his fortunes around.

At the end of 2008, the father-of-six found himself redundant. He had joined the steel company in 1999 as a credit controller and payroll administrator. But when he learned his post was to be moved to Wolverhampton as part of a restructuring, he declined to relocate.

He said: “I decided to accept the redundancy package and look for a more flexible career that would allow me to re-establish a bit of work/life balance.

“I decided to look for an investment opportunity to make the most of my redundancy payout. So, I started looking into franchising opportunities.”

Accounts Assist sounded a perfect fit for his skills.

Mr Cooper added: “I learned that they offered full training and plenty of help getting started and running the business. After meeting with the company’s founder, Anita Brook, and looking into the company’s background, I was sold.”

He now runs Accounts Assist (Bury) from his Swinton Crescent home and the company offers a number of bookkeeping and accountancy-related services.

For more information: visit accountsassist.co.uk/bury