central south mid market
Can we seize the opportunity? The world economy is going through seismic changes.
In the UK, Brexit is perhaps the most visible and pressing challenge, but it would be wrong to categorise it as the only one
Technology is changing the way businesses operate. And, as the innovation of today becomes the normal of tomorrow, business leaders are spending more resources on understanding how technology will affect them and how they can harness it for growth.
The emergence of new markets as well as political and regulatory changes are affecting the way businesses deal with suppliers, customers and wider stakeholders.
Yet despite all of this, in the four years we have sought out the top performing companies in the central south’s mid-market we have consistently found businesses that are thriving. It has been said that uncertainty is the enemy of business, but at BDO we are optimists, and where there’s change we also believe there’s opportunity. It seems our region’s mid-sized companies – its economic engine – feel the same way.
There are plenty of examples in the central south of companies finding success despite the challenges. Businesses such as electronics manufacturer, Blakell Europlacer, which has strengthened its global presence in recent years and whose China operations are growing at their fastest rate. Perpetuum, a world leader in railway safety technology, is another great example which has seen international sales increase in India and Australia amidst the global uncertainty.
Malcolm Thixton, lead partner at BDO in Southampton said: “As we reach the culmination of this year’s campaign we are excited to announce our three finalists for the Central South Mid Market Company of the Year. Operating in very different sectors they typify the huge diversity of businesses in this region – a key factor in its enduring resilience over the past decade and which we believe leaves it strongly placed to tackle whatever happens in the next few years.”
However, policymakers have an important role to play in navigating these unprecedented changes to ensure the UK overall remains a great place for doing business. Just after the UK voted to leave the EU, BDO proposed 22 policies that we believed would help create a post-Brexit ‘new economy’. Following consultation with our clients, policymakers and our people, we recently honed this list down to five key policies designed to support midsized entrepreneurially-spirited businesses and enable the UK economy to thrive.
These include simplifying tax to make doing business easier; investing in smart infrastructure; tackling the UK skills gap by reinstating the two-year post-study work visa; increasing the UK’s wealth by addressing our productivity puzzle and creating new streams of patient capital to support entrepreneurs.
In the short term though, the UK’s and the central south’s success will be driven by those businesses that are led by far-sighted individuals and strong management teams willing to take a risk by investing in new systems, processes and people and in some cases by disrupting the market. These will be the bedrock of our ‘new economy’ and our three finalists for BDO’s Central South Mid Market Company of the Year couldn’t be better examples.
Central South Mid Market Company of the Year – The finalists Imperial Cars
Since its inception in 2004, Imperial Cars has enjoyed a level of success that has enabled it to grow from an ex-petrol forecourt site retailing 80 cars per month to what is now a 14-site national used- car retail operation selling 1,500 cars per month.
Currently the seventh largest used-car retailer in the UK (AM magazine) with an annual turnover of £220 million, projections for 2019/20 are £300m, as recent and planned acquisitions this year deliver additional volume.
Named Used Car Retailer of the Year at the recent AM Awards, Imperial Cars prides itself on its customer service, the quality of its vehicles and how these, and the company, are represented online. ‘We’re
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businessmag.co.uk
open and transparent’ is an often overused phrase but the Imperial Cars website really does deliver on this claim, providing the consumer with everything they need to know about a vehicle – service history, vehicle provenance, preparation information and a plethora of high- resolution images.
The company’s accelerated growth has been overseen by Mike Bell who was appointed as managing director in 2008. He commented: “The success of
Imperial Cars over the past few years can be attributed to everyone involved in the business. The dedication and loyalty of all of our 400+ employees have enabled us to thrive and continually improve during challenging economic times.
“The financial support from our commercial partners has always been, and will always be appreciated. Coupled with the continuing success of the business, we have some exciting times ahead, not least the opening of a new corporate head office and a state-of-the-art ten-acre preparation centre in the coming months. I have no doubt that we will deliver, or exceed our turnover target for the next financial year, securing Imperial Cars and our employees’ futures and creating new job opportunities across the group moving forward.”
THE BUSINESS MAGAZINE – MAY/JUNE 2019
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