Gio BENEDETTI, the millionaire father of violin virtuoso Nicola and one of Scotland's best-known entrepreneurs, has retired from business after 50 years with the sale of his last company.
Mr Benedetti, 69, has sold first-aid kit maker Wallace Cameron, which employs 80 people in Wishaw, North Lanarkshire, to motor-sector distributor VGroup International, based in Milton Keynes.
The business will continue to trade from Wishaw as Wallace Cameron International, and Mr Benedetti said: "Most of the jobs will be retained."
The Italian-born Scot from West Kilbride, North Ayrshire, was one of Scotland's earliest mentors of budding entrepreneurs and a supporter of the Prince's Scottish Youth Business Trust among other organisations.
He said: "I think I have done my stint, I want to relax a bit more. There are plenty of opportunities for entrepreneurs in Scotland but I have done my bit – let somebody else have a go."
Mr Benedetti said he wanted to spend more time following the career of his classical superstar daughter. His older daughter Stephanie is also a violinist.
He said: "I see quite a few concerts, mostly in the UK. I would like to go and see both my daughters more."
Mr Benedetti's empire at one time spanned six companies employing 800 people and turning over £50 million.
In his first and most famous deal he pocketed a fortune from the sale of the dry-cleaning business he started at the age of 18, eight years after arriving in Irvine to make a life with his uncle, who owned Joe's Cafe in the town.
In a 2007 interview with The Herald, Mr Benedetti recalled: "I had never been further than 20 miles from my village in Tuscany.
"When I was sent to Scotland, I had no idea where it was. The journey was an adventure – until the reality of Irvine hit me. When I went to school, I felt as if I came from Mars."
After leaving his first job in his uncle's cafe, the budding entrepreneur picked up dry-cleaning door-to-door, devising his own systems, and at 19 had 15 shops.
A visit to the Linwood car plant led to contracts with Ford, Vauxhall, Nissan and Rover, and the eventual building of the biggest dry-cleaning plant in Europe at Kilwinning, which he sold to cleaning services giant Initial for £30m at today's prices.
He used the capital to buy a papermaker in Birmingham, which he later sold for £9.5m, a cling-film maker in Shropshire, sold in 2007 for £21m to a management buy-out led by Mr Benedetti himself, and Wallace Cameron, which he moved from Glasgow to Wishaw. Its bright, easy-to-use products sell in Lakeland, Marks and Spencer, B&Q, Argos, and Tesco.
The entrepreneur said he was glad to do his final deal but admitted: "Wallace Cameron has not been my best scenario."
His Benedetti International group's last accounts show a £25,000 pre-tax loss, and debt of £3.7m, suggesting the sale may not have added to his fortune .
Less than two years ago Mr Benedetti was targeting major growth on the back of a £2m investment and raft of new products, including a revolutionary treatment for deep-vein thrombosis, with staff numbers at 140.
However, he said yesterday: "Markets have been pretty tough. We have invested quite a bit, maybe a bit too much."
David Hunter, partner at accountants Campbell Dallas which handled the sale, said: "In the current economic climate and trading circumstances of the company this was a good sale, ensuring the continuity of business for the benefit of suppliers and employees."
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