DURING more than 20 years as a journalist, Peter Davenport was a skilled observer and an expert in instant communication of complex facts - some of them as dramatic as Bloody Sunday in Ireland, the Lockerbie plane disaster and the hunt for the Yorkshire Ripper.

But then this former northern correspondent, and later defence correspondent for The Times, whose assignments took him to the Falklands, the Middle East, the US and most European capitals, decided to launch a venture in North Yorkshire, applying those skills to helping businesses.

The success of PDA has been stunning - to the extent that it is now pitching for the Small Business of the Year category of the Evening Press Business of the Year Awards 2001. Peter is himself a strong contender for the Business Personality of the Year.

In little more than three years, PDA has grown from having one, small client paying £5,000 a year for public relations services to a thriving and successful agency with, at any one time, more than a dozen retained clients from every sector of the economy and with fees income for the last year of about £225,000.

It has gone from a small loft office to prestigious accommodation in Harrogate's leading business complex, Windsor House, and it works with clients across the country.

Peter's proud boast is that his agency has never had to "cold pitch" for work; all its clients - and that includes St Peter's School in York, the national law firm Addleshaw Booth & Co and Boston Spa-based MBA Publishing - came by referral and recommendation.

Media relations remains a core part of the business, although PDA now provides a comprehensive range of communications services, including event management, video production, speech writing, corporate communications and crisis management.

Peter and his clients see his knowledge of the media industry as giving him a distinct advantage over the many public relations agencies, most of whom claim an in-depth understanding of the inner workings of today's diverse media, although few have worked at senior level within newspapers or broadcasting.

He said: "Agencies who claim to 'control' the media are being less than honest.

"The media is a law unto itself, but by bringing a professional journalist's eye, together with a keen commercial mind, to bear on the day-to-day business of a client, both sides of the PR equation can be satisfied."