Run by the Portsmouth and South-East Hampshire Chamber of Commerce, the eight-month-long entrepreneurship challenge has pitted 12 radically different businesses against one another, with a chance of winning a year's free mentoring from global consultancy Deloitte.

The plucky start-ups have gone head-to-head in three heats throughout the year and have been gradually whittled down to just three remaining contenders, who vied with each other for the prize on Thursday night.

Introduced by compere Lizz Clarke of LCM, the first to give a pitch to the business panel and around 80 guests at Portsmouth FC's Fratton Park hospitality lounge was Gill Vigus, founder of semi-naked butler supply firm Butlers2Go, of Havant.

The winner of the last round of Mentor Magic in September, former
schoolteacher Gill, 48, said she had taken on board many of the panel's suggestions to improve business.

But, standing alongside butler 'Karl', she admitted business had become very tough, and she had recently had a three-week period with no orders at all.

But she was advised to ride it out, 'think laterally', and accentuate the reliability of her butlers over her competitors.

Panel member and keynote speaker Paul Barry-Walsh, chairman of Fredericks Foundation, said: 'I think you have had some really bad luck.

'The crunch is a really big problem, but if you can get out of this,
things won't get much worse.'

Next up was Jackie Pool, winner of Round Two in July, and head of JPA Ltd, of Bishop's Waltham.

As a former occupational therapist, Jackie, 51, has created a JPA dementia management system to improve care by assessing everything from the care building itself to the job satisfaction of its staff, as well as providing training across the industry.

She had previously had ambitions to spread the business overseas, but had been cautioned against it.

She said she had been developing the website, including running a Google ad campaign, which has allowed the business to 'shoot up the list' or returned results when people search for 'dementia care training', and is now in talks with some of the UK's largest care home companies, and an Australian distributor.

Panellist Nicola Youern from Southern Focus Trust said: 'You're obviously in a business which is recession-proof, and you obviously want to move abroad.

'But you're in a UK market which is worth £15bn.

'The thing about carehomes is they're a bit of a dying art. The government, more and more, wants people to be cared for in their own homes.

'You should be looking at going towards that.'

Lastly, following dessert, sister act Abigail and Fleur Emery from London-based Team Grasshopper gave their pitch.

The sisters, 33 and 35 respectively, run an organic instant porridge company, making small disposable tubs of creamy, flavoured porridge.

The ebullient duo admit they were lacking in experience at first, and in need of some sound, stern advice.

But almost one year on, they announced they have just sealed a £15,000 deal with Waitrose to supply their product.

Abigail said the past six weeks had seen them sell more of their product than in the previous 18 months combined, operating at margins of around 40 per cent.

Following the pitches the five-strong panel retired to consider their verdict, as Mr Barry-Walsh delivered the evening's address.
When they returned after 30 minutes of intense wrangling, the judges had a shock announcement.

Unable to reach a decision, they were forced to hand the top spot to two winners – JPA Ltd, and Team Grasshopper.

The move was a surprise – not least to Deloitte, which had originally banked on providing free consultancy only to one winner.

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