33MSR GROUP |
BEST PRACTICE REPRESENTATIVE 2019
If the property is not sold within six months,
we continue to market the property until it
does without asking for more money.
The landlord can track property sales online
every day of the week and visit our office
to discuss matters. We have experienced
valuers, negotiators and sales progressors
who help at every stage of the sales process,
from appointment through to completion.
Umbrella services
An umbrella company is a large company
with many employees. The people employed
in such companies are not the directors of
the company, nor are they shareholders
or partners. They are nevertheless entitled
to tax-free consumption, like any regular
employee. These costs are reimbursed by the
money produced by the companies.
Many contractors join umbrella companies,
who then manage their pay-related tax
concerns after performing a job. We
knew we had the expertise to perform a
service of this kind, which is why we set
up Platinum Umbrella, a branch of the
MSR Group. In this regard, we focus a
lot on, among others, IT consultants and
doctors or nurses. It didn’t take long to
realise this was a good idea, as we’ve
grown enormously since setting it up. Both
turnover and profits are very high.
It’s not just a matter of handling PAYE
concerns, though; we provide help at
juncture. We let contractors know exactly
what it is they are signing up to, and
we handle all the difficulties relating to
paperwork. Be it holiday pay or their right
to work, we ensure that the process of
gaining work is as seamless for contractors
as possible.
A steep learning curve
Starting umbrella services immediately
presented challenges for us. Despite
having the know-how to conduct such
business, we were not yet fully acquainted
with the standard model of operating
in this area. How to create contacts,
communicate with recruitment agencies,
understand the employers’ points of views
and administer such varied groups of
people – all of these required a great deal
of study and preparation.
Because the service we provided was
of such a high standard, we began
to connect with employers through
word of mouth. Within only a year of
setting the service up – from December
2017 to September 2018 – we grew
from managing roughly 100 people’s
employment to 1,000. Having achieved a
turnover of millions of pounds from doing
this, we have shown that hard work and
entrepreneurial zeal can pay off.
The outcome of this is that we now have
in-house professionals who have become
experts in this field. Not only have they
learned to do this proficiently, but they have
also managed to bring this business model
to scale, performing it at considerable speed
– a feat much appreciated by our clients.
Without this hardworking team, we could
not have achieved what we have over the
2017 to 2018 period.
Skill and expertise, however, are not enough
on their own. A strong ethos of honesty,
fairness and transparency has to underpin
this enterprise, as it’s only by doing this that
we can both attain customers and retain
them too. In this competitive industry,
honesty and transparency are particularly
important, as our dealings depend greatly
on long-term partnership and collaboration.
Lessons to learn
What has been said above should not
be mistaken for an exercise in bragging.
Our success testifies to the necessity for
businesses to change, adapt and advance.
By surveying the market and understanding
what expertise we could bring to it, we
managed to find a method that both
expanded our business and helped out a
considerable segment of the workforce,
most of whom are important contributors
to society. Best practice is not always about
the skills you possess; it’s about skills you
learn and apply from multidisciplinary
knowledge. This commitment to innovation
has served us well in the past, and it will be
the guiding principle as we move forward.
MSR Group staff
We managed to
find a method
that both
expanded our
business and
helped out a
considerable
segment of the
workforce
“
“
Rt Hon The Lord David Blunkett
Rt Hon The Lord Eric Pickles
