Eddie Whittingham decided to put his investigative skills to use by establishing his own business – and it is growing thanks to an incubator site in Manchester.
The ex-police officer turned solicitor founded a private investigation firm after becoming disappointed with the available services.
鈥淭he sector is entirely unregulated and you don鈥檛 need qualifications in order to operate, which is quite shocking,鈥� he says.
鈥淲hat I wanted to do is deliver a much more professional, ethical and reliable service 鈥� and make it a professional service that can stand shoulder-to-should with banks, law firms and big businesses.鈥�
Technological advances have led to more opportunities for fraud and more opportunities to catch it.
鈥淎s you can imagine, I use quite a lot of technology especially when it鈥檚 the undercover work,鈥� he says of Whittingham Corporate Investigations.
鈥淔or example, I鈥檝e got very discreet cameras and body cams which you can use covertly.
鈥淚 have police-grade equipment that I鈥檝e got plenty of experience using and I鈥檓 constantly looking out for new technology and products, and how I can utilise that to help my clients.鈥�
The business is based at Entrepreneurial Spark in Manchester. The dedicated 鈥楬atchery鈥� at the incubator site was established by NatWest in partnership with KPMG and is currently home to 80 businesses, many with a tech background.
Each intake gives the entrepreneurs a base for an initial six months and access to NatWest staff and mentoring sessions with KPMG.
Whittingham Corporation Investigations is still in its infancy 鈥� the business began trading on the first day he moved into Entrepreneurial Spark 鈥� and Whittingham says he applied for the hub mainly to help validate his idea.
鈥淏eing here was a turning point for me as I鈥檇 had an idea, wasn鈥檛 sure whether it was something I should definitely pursue as I鈥檇 left a lucrative career to follow this.
鈥淟uckily, the team really liked it so I got on board so that catapulted me to where I am now.
鈥淲ithout wanting to use the term 鈥榩rivate investigation鈥�, that really is the work I do.
鈥淏eing able to be associated with NatWest and KPMG, it really does add that level of credibility to the business.鈥�