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roundtable: accelerating growth ... continued from previous page


relationships and not just about delivering a box of electronic products.


It has enabled us to get where we want to be quicker than we could have done organically. You have to keep pedalling hard to avoid being left behind.”


John Heynen said the FMCG import and distribution business of RH Amar had grown from £46.9m turnover to £53m in the past two years, within a highly competitive sector. “Our USP is fundamentally around the quality of our people and the brands we put in front of our customers. We have secured growth by bringing new high-quality products into categories that we already supply, as well as to satisfy new and emerging food trends we have identified.”


Consolidation within the food service and wholesale sectors had also helped RH Amar’s trade.


Ed Cooper


“For us, growing around the world has been absolutely crucial. When I joined TSL eight years ago, typically 65% of our business was in the UK, now frequently it is 65% overseas.


“Another core aspect of TSL’s development has been to assemble a very strong team of talented individual specialists, although that means you are prone to the perils of headhunting and have to offer very competitive salaries and benefits.”


TSL developed its own broadcasting products division to complement its systems integration arm. “But, the methodology of both businesses are completely different and so we recently split the businesses, and now the products side is enjoying very strong growth.”


TSL has taken the post-recession opportunity to make acquisitions, both to strengthen its technology offering and broaden its worldwide customerbase.


Peter West’s IT company Portal has grown rapidly – its current £21m turnover is up 50% on the previous year, which also grew by 45%. He put the growth down to three factors:


• Focus on customer satisfaction: “We have moved people from being bonused on the satisfaction levels of their clients rather than their own P&Ls. It has transformed the way our people approach their job in a very positive way.”


• Hiring excellent people within their field


• Corporate agility. “We’ve kept moving. The business is very different now from what it was five years ago. You have to do that in the IT business probably more than any other. If you don’t, and stay still, you are dead.”


Portal is now focused on the current IT buzz- areas of social collaboration and information management.


He exampled another area of Portal agility. “We recently dipped our toes into the acquisition world and bought a consultancy.


www.businessmag.co.uk David Murray mentioned the


government-funded and private sector- driven Growth Accelerator scheme (www. growthaccelerator.com) currently assisting SMEs aiming to double their size in three years.


Richard Holmes of Grant Thornton, one of the facilitators of the £200m support scheme, explained that Growth Accelerator teams across the country provided practical help with business planning and development, access to funding, and innovation.


“There’s no point in dreaming of sustainable growth if the essential building blocks are not in place with the right plan at the right time and the right resources to seize market opportunities.”


Is lack of available finance still an inhibitor to growth?


“Yes.” said Steer, while admitting that JCA had got funding “on the last click of the roller coaster” as it rose to the heights that preceded the rapid recessionary downturn.


Banks had undoubtedly become more risk averse since 2008, not least because of Basel requirements on their capital holdings.


“We now tend to fund things ourselves because of lack of acceptable finance.


“A lot of hot air is spoken about funding by the Government and banks. Frankly, I find it tiresome. Apparently, JCA is a perfect customer for the banks, but it always seems too difficult for them to loan us money to help us grow. Unless you have a sure-fire winner, they are not interested in putting cash on the table.


“What the Government is trying to achieve in forcing banks to lend is frankly not filtering down to SMEs. Frankly, the sooner things move from hot air to reality, the better we will all be.”


Rogers agreed to an extent, but questioned whether all businesses seeking funding actually needed it, or were presenting their business propositions adequately – demonstrating proven core competency, a strong management team, a potential market, a disruptive business model, robust business plan, etc.


“If you have a disruptive business model there are a lot of funders around who are happy to get involved, but often lack of access to finance can be a bit of an excuse rather than the cause of concern – much of the time the problem is an internal management issue.


“Successful management teams with good leaders look outside to see what their business world really needs, then ensure internally they have the right systems, processes and people in place to deliver it. Of course, there will be 1:10 businesses that do have growth funding issues, particularly in that difficult spot between £2-5million.”


Phillips agreed with Steer on the banks’ funding appetite. “They give you the nice sales pitch but when it comes to signing on the dotted line they place so many restrictions that the funding is often unviable.”


Lawyer Emma Gibson: “Even where funding is in place and banks are supportive, it is still difficult to get the deal over the line. Banks are taking longer to make decisions and more likely to change their minds as deals progress.


“Those businesses that don’t need bank funding are the ones driving the economy at the moment.”


Emma Gibson


Companies are looking for funding from different sources – asset-based lending, invoice discounting, etc. These potential providers of finance are “really upping their game and filling the void left by the banks. New providers of finance, such as the Business Growth Fund, are typically not using traditional banks.


“The real issue is access to finance at the lower end, in my view £0 to £1m. There is a funding gap and in the LEP we are trying to see how that can be resourced.”


She felt the Government ploy of funnelling THE BUSINESS MAGAZINE – THAMES VALLEY – DECEMBER 12/JANUARY 13


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