Update From the CEO

We’re in the middle of July now. Pre-Covid-19, we never could’ve envisaged how this year was going to pan out. We had very clear plans for growth and how we’d go about it, so to get to £300million in the next 3 years, we knew it was going to take a lot of work and a lot of effort – that was pre-Covid.

Then we get to the middle of March and BANG, we get hit with a full scale lockdown and the whole dynamics and outlook of the world have changed. But for us the plans haven’t really changed at all, in terms of our objectives and aims. If anything the opportunities are better for us because what we’ve seen is that there are clearly a number of distressed businesses out there.

I think a number of smaller businesses see selling and staying on, being part of the business and being part of a larger group as a really sensible decision for them. To consolidate their position now in an uncertain market and rapidly changing environment, whereby the sellers can possibly take some money off the table now and still remain involved in the growth of the business is a good move for them.

They’ll have the strength of a well-resourced group behind them, and they can tap in to these resources. We use some of the best accountancy and legal firms in the country, so it makes absolute sense for a number of smaller companies, any businesses with £10million – £30million in revenue, can access the best of the best at a fraction of the cost.

For them and for us, that’s a key point, and why when we’re looking to acquire businesses, we’re a better option, in my opinion, than management buyout for example, or management buy-in because we just offer more. We buy the businesses, we support them with their growth plans, we consolidate and take a lot of the pressure off from the business side through our team. This means these people that started the business can go out and deliver on the park, do the damage if you like.

They can focus on growing their business without the fear of having to worry about how they’re going to finance it, fund it, deal with the ups and downs and peaks and troughs. That’s our core skill as a group and with a hugely experienced board of directors who have been through this, not Covid-19 directly, but certainly financial crisis and recession, I think we’re a great option for anyone looking to sell.