LOCAL cable TV pioneer Peter Collins has launched a new venture.

Mr Collins has set-up e-str@tegies Ltd to feed business services into fast-growth enterprises.

In the 1980s he was managing director of six Cablevision companies, better known as Pactel Cable, which eventually carried the NYNEX name.

The new business, which is based in Nelson House, Gaskell Street, Bolton, is aimed at small to medium-sized concerns.

It provides services such as web and e-commerce site appraisals and the supply of electronic business cuttings.

Mr Collins's business partner, Andrew Magee, is e-str@tegies' managing director.

Intelligence gathered for a client will be analysed by Mr Collins, Mr Magee and fellow director Laura Nuttall, a small business expert who is also on the board of Hargreaves Hamilton Group Ltd.

E-str@tegies used Manchester Business School to conduct research which revealed that only 15pc of companies use the Internet to full commercial benefit.

They discovered that entrepreneurs do not have time to search the web and many do not know where to find market intelligence to improve strategic decision-making.

The electronic clipping service - e-information - trawls the web for industry and financial information, analyses intelligence and sends clients relevant cuttings by email or on paper.

Mr Magee, a former marketing director with Crown Paints, has worked with Middle East conglomerates and specialises in business strategy for fast-growth companies.

Mr Collins, who lives at Preesall, spearheaded the cable TV revolution in Bolton, Greater Manchester, Derby, Norwich and other major cities.

He and Mr Magee later started one of the country's first internet service companies, North West Net in Manchester.

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