After 17 years helping to shape some of Manchester’s best-known developments, Gabriel Erinle decided it was time to back himself.
The former Allied London estates director, who played key roles at Spinningfields, St John’s and Leeds Dock, swapped managing landmark estates for starting his own company GAME FM, which stands for Go A Mile Extra Facilities Management.
In the first 12 months the startup secured an impressive £1.24m in contracts.
Erinle is part of the GM Business Growth Hub’s second cohort, which has just arrived in Lisbon’s Web Summit.
He was easy to spot in the airport as he was the one in the GAME FM jumper, despite the watery November sunshine.
He tells BusinessCloud why he decided to launch his own startup.
“All the buildings you see on Spinningfields, I’ve had some part in – whether that’s during construction, from practical completion, or bringing them into business as usual for client occupation and fit-out,” he says.
After nearly two decades on the client side, Erinle decided it was time for a new challenge so launched GAME FM.
Branding is key
The startup specialises in providing security, cleaning, concierge and facilities management expertise.
Personal branding has played a big part in the startup’s success – evidenced by the entrepreneur’s GAME FM jumper.
He explains: “Branding is huge. It’s a big part of what we do and how we get our name out there.
“I want people to think of GAME and associate it with what we do.
“We’re playful and fun with it – we don’t take ourselves too seriously. It’s called GAME, after all.”
The Manchester-based firm is clearly serious about service, but it’s still a people-first business.
BusinessCloud’s Patrick Killeen and Gabriel Erinle, founder of GAME FM, in Lisbon
Scaling at pace
Now employing 31 full-time staff and a five-person management team since it was founded in June 2024, the business provides cleaning, security, concierge, maintenance and front-of-house services for a range of commercial and residential buildings.
“I’m really big into tech and innovation,” says Erinle.
“I want to bring that into facilities management to make our work more efficient and move us properly into the 21st century.”
That drive also helped earn him a place on the ASCEND programme, which supports ambitious Manchester firms to grow and attract investment.
“I’d been the face of Spinningfields for so long that I was already used to engaging with local authorities, the council and emergency services,” he explains.
“Once I set up GAME, I reached out to see what support was out there.
“I didn’t get in the first year I applied because it was before we were even fully established, but the second time I was lucky enough to be selected.”
Putting people first
GAME FM is both a national living wage and living hours accredited employer, with no zero-hour contracts and a guaranteed minimum of 16 hours a week.
“It works for a lot of people who are on benefits or have parental duties,” he says.
“They can work part-time around school hours or at night.”
The company’s John Dalton Street office has a wall map covered in pins showing where staff and their families come from as a reminder of its diversity.
He continues: “We’ve got a really diverse workforce. It’s great to see just how many different places our team comes from.
“We’ve got people who work from home on certain days or change their hours around childcare.
“We bend over backwards to accommodate our team.”
Playing the GAME
At Web Summit in Lisbon, Erinle isn’t just there to network, but also to learn.
The 70,000-people-strong event is a chance for him to bring new ideas back to the North West.
“It’s a real opportunity to understand what investors are looking for,” he says.
“There are some amazing masterclasses, and I’m really looking forward to the Toto Wolff talk.
“But it’s also about expanding our network and getting GAME FM on more people’s radar.
“Everyone here has some sort of credibility or something to add and that’s what we do.”
Creating the luck
Erinle puts GAME FM’s progress down to a mix of timing, graft and belief.
He adds modestly: “It’s just been about luck at points and about being in the right place at the right time.
“Luck is when hard work meets opportunity.
“You make your own luck though – you work hard to get those opportunities, and that’s when you start creating your own luck.”
The company has grown organically, backed only by one early silent investor, and now works with managing agents across Manchester and beyond.
He concludes: “Our clients care about social value and want to work with an ethical employer that puts wellbeing first.
“I’ve been client-side, so I understand their pain points and that helps us deliver in a way that works for them.”