Paintball wizard eyes up Europe

Nov 13 2009 by Sue Scott, Evening Gazette

SERIAL entrepreneur Jim Mann is looking to shoot his paintball business into another three European countries within months.

Darlington-based Just Paintball UK already sells more than £2m equipment and accessories a year into France, Belgium and Ireland as well as the UK.

Now Mr Mann, who launched the business in 2001, is eyeing up other areas as he looks to expand the business by maintaining or exceeding year-on-year growth of 40%.

But the Edinburgh-born entrepreneur, who has run several successful start-up ventures, said he had no plans to export outside of Europe.

He said: “Trading within Europe has been very easy for us. It becomes complicated after that, with taxation issues and so on.”

The move to bring in new European customers marks the next chapter in a colourful career that has seen Mr Mann launch a string of businesses.

Ten years ago he launched the Croft-based Point Blank paintball theme park and Madtrax Tyne Tees, an off-road carting centre that was sold in 2002 for an undisclosed sum.

But another venture, internet accommodation provider Bedsearcher, fell into administration before being bought by Worcester-based Discover Travel & Tours International Ltd earlier this year.

Mr Mann said he would focus on growing Just Paintball, which achieves around a million website page views a month and supplies branded paintballs, site overalls, and tournament marshal tops to paintball shops and retail customers.