AN entrepreneur is hoping his clever coat-hangers will lead to business success.

Nick Lewis, who founded Claines-based M2M, joins a host of firms less than two years old hoping to win the HSBC Start-Up Stars Awards.

He has already won a product design award from the Design Council and featured on the BBC's Best Inventions Show.

Mr Lewis - who could win a first prize of £20,000 - set up a joint venture with manufacturers in China that threatens to take the market by storm.

He spotted a potential gap in the market while shopping for clothes when he noticed that, even at the top of the market, garments were poorly displayed and sometimes even damaged by the use of inferior hangers.

The answer was obvious to Mr Lewis. He developed a hanger that could be adjusted to match the width of each individual garment to prevent mis-shaping.

Boutiques

His range of Made to Measure hangers are now selling through the Innovations mail order catalogue and being used by clothing boutiques and brands such as BMW.

Mr Lewis said his company already had several presentations scheduled with retailers interested in the mass-market range.

"Now that the concept is proven, mass production of a range of adjustable hangers out of China will guarantee attractive price points for both trade customers and consumers," he said.

"There will even be a children's hanger that fits all shapes and sizes."

Mr Lewis has also set up a website, www.m2m.co.uk, which allows people to buy on-line.

"We want the Start-Up Stars to provide inspiration to all those people who have been thinking about going alone," said John Randall, head of business banking at HSBC.

Putting his idea into practice has required considerable commitment in terms of time and money on Mr Lewis' part, and it was two years before registered designs and patents were granted for the new, made-to-measure hangers.

In spite of considerable interest from retailers, the major manufacturers were unwilling to invest in the new tooling necessary to take the hangar into mass production.

Nick decided to go it alone and invested in a single impression tool to prove the concept.

The presentation ceremony takes place at London's Savoy Hotel on Wednesday, October 3.