entrepreneurs 25


Pictures by Angus Thomas


nominate anyone to make them a cup of tea for a month, that can be me, or anyone else in the office. They also get to wear the green superhero cape which matches our Liquid Friday branding.


Is there anything you don’t enjoy?


I don’t do things I don’t enjoy. We play on people’s strengths here, channeling their skills into what they do well at. Everyone should do what they enjoy.


What about plans for future growth or new ideas?


Board meetings throw up lots of ideas, but we’re currently stifled with a raft of legislation: pensions, auto-enrolment, PAYE and Real Time Information. Every business in the country has to get it right. I have 2,100 employees on weekly


pay, 300 on monthly and 150 on a fortnightly cycle; that’s a lot of information which has to be processed correctly.


The way we have communicated has changed so much, what’s your take on what happens next, such as smartphone app payments?


One example is that our contractor expenses receipts are sent to us as scans, and are immediately logged and backed up. We are very much a paperless office. Staff use two desktop monitors, one is for looking up records, receipts and so forth, so they do not need huge paper files to access information while working on the other screen. It saves on a massive amount of physical storage.


Is age a barrier and would you have done things differently?


Age is no barrier to pursuing an idea and we are moving the old finance world to the new, for example with our online contractor accountants, Boox. We are providing the best of both worlds for contractors looking for a better and easier way to operate a limited company. We provide a simple online accounting portal, with access to a dedicated and qualified accountant who is there to support the contractor and their business.


I will never forget hearing someone in banking saying ’he’s too forward thinking for banking’ – not about me, but it made me realise I had to get out. We have a very young staff internally across our businesses but I’ve also just appointed a financial controller who is 58. Here it’s about if you gel well and fit with the company style.


Ideal day off if you couldn’t get into work, or just a selfish me-day?


I can always get into the company server and we’re never more than a click away from emails on smartphones or an iPad, plus I’m a bit of a workaholic, but a day off would be ice skating with my daughter, who is eight, or playing football with my son, who’s five. A selfish day out would be windy yachting or golf. I go to


THE BUSINESS MAGAZINE – SOLENT & SOUTH CENTRAL – MAY 2013


Cowes every year, to race, not to sit on a gin palace.


What would you consider your greatest achievement? There are lots of awards on display, which ones matter most?


We’re NVQ Employer of the Year for Hampshire. We’ve also achieved a place on the Sunday Times Fast Track 100 for the past two years; both are great.


How do you manage the home/work balance with a young family?


Home/work balance is important as I have young children, but I’m lucky as my wife is a primary school teacher, which solves the school holiday dilemmas parents face.


Any unfulfilled ambitions?


I want to keep looking at new ways of working, new ideas and channels to market. Boox has been running for two years now, but all the ideas I have revolve around temporary placements, payroll, recruitment and finance.


Factoring Made Simple is one development, a brokerage to help companies negotiate new finance solutions. Boox is very much aimed at the SME market and has diversified to a full service accountancy practice. I also want to get my private pilot’s license in the next 18 months.


Any hidden talents, other than a working knowledge of three other languages and being a bit of a twinkle toes?


The dance opportunity came from a charity donation, where I learned to waltz with Ola and James Jordan, two of the stars from BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing. I had to admit though that I’d done it before. I used to have a schoolboy job taking the cash on the door for dance classes in Reigate; when the teacher pointed out I’d earn more as an instructor I soon found myself teaching up to 50 people. I can also windsurf, again a legacy of competitions as a schoolboy.


Details: www.liquidfriday.co.uk www.businessmag.co.uk


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