Radical Sportscars

A Message from Lord Pickles and Lord Blunkett, followed by Radical Sportscars's best practice article

The ability to listen and learn from one another has always been vital in parliament, in business and in most aspects of daily life. But at this particular moment in time, as national and global events continue to reiterate, it is uncommonly crucial that we forge new channels of communication and reinforce existing ones. The following article from Radical Sportscars is an attempt to do just that. We would welcome your thoughts on this or any other Parliamentary Review article.

Rt Hon The Lord David Blunkett

Rt Hon The Lord Eric Pickles

www.radicalsportscars.com

13RADICAL SPORTSCARS |

BEST PRACTICE REPRESENTATIVE 2018

Joe Anwyll, CEO

Radical Championship

race series

Radical Sportscars, based in Peterborough, Cambridgeshire,

is a world class leader in the production and exporting of

own design and manufactured racing cars and track cars

sold to markets around the world. They provide an unparalleled

opportunity for gentlemen and amateur drivers to race in a

portfolio of Radical Championship series at major racetracks

throughout the world. Formed 21 years ago, the company has

produced over 2,100 racing cars to date, but, as a result of the

poor management of the founders, ran into serious financial

problems, which resulted in Joe Anwyll joining the company as

CEO in May 2016.

What I discovered

When I was recruited by the majority shareholders to turn the company around,

I discovered that Radical was losing £150,000 a month and had lost £7 million

over the previous four years of trading. Time was running out; the shareholders

were not prepared to carry on sustaining losses and the bank was threatening to

withdraw facilities.

Although the business had become the number one manufacturer of bespoke

racing cars in the world, employing 140 highly skilled operatives and engineers, and

a turnover of £20 million, the working practices I found within the business were

virtually non-existent and reflected the “cottage style” of the founders.

FACTS ABOUT

RADICAL SPORTSCARS

»CEO: Joe Anwyll

»Established in 1996

»Based in Peterborough,

Cambridgeshire

»Services: Manufacturer of

Radical range of track and

sports cars, promoters of

Radical Championships

»No. of employees: 140

»www.radicalsportscars.com

Radical Sportscars

THE PARLIAMENTARY REVIEW

Highlighting best practice

14 | RADICAL SPORTSCARS

The solution

Thanks to my background in the motor

industry, and experience implementing

best practice manufacturing and

management systems, it was very clear

to me that complete overhaul was

required throughout all areas of the

company.

Managing the transition from a

“cottage industry” to a business

operating best practice lean

manufacturing involved a major culture

change throughout the company at all

employee levels.

The workforce were steeped in old

fashioned methods, had never received

any formal training and were totally

demoralised from years of uncertainty.

A fear of change, I felt, could

present a significant obstacle in my

transformation of the business.

To allay this fear, I decided to make

a factual presentation to the whole

workforce setting out the key issues

facing the business and the steps

required for survival.

This was the first time our employees

had been given this style of

involvement, and the result was initially

one of astonishment and then one

of total support; they wanted a new,

professionally managed future.

My first task was to implement policies

and systems that addressed the cash

drain while simultaneously confronting

the significant contractual and

employee risks within the business.

There was no time for negotiation or

training; I had to do what I instinctively

knew was right. As a result of these

changes, the business broke even in

October 2016 without making a single

operative redundant.

I made a further presentation to the

workforce, so they could understand

how by changing practice they could

have a significant impact on the

business and help to secure its future.

Having plugged the major leaks,

the next phase of the rescue was to

secure a change from traditional to

performance-based manufacturing.

To achieve this, I had to completely

restructure the organisation, starting

with the senior staff; the only

exception was CFO Hitesh Katechia.

All businesses require key

manufacturing, sales and marketing

indicators built into their operational

structure to allow management at

all levels to set and manage the key

target areas that drive the business to

profitability and success.

These did not exist at Radical; I

thus implemented a reorganisation

designed to produce a blend of skills

that I knew would instil best practice.

This was done in a way that would

enable the workforce to carry out

operational tasks in a structured,

disciplined and measured way,

thereby, reducing waste and improving

operational efficiency.

The workforce seized these changes

with the sort of enthusiasm I would

not have thought possible a few

months earlier, and the transformation

of the business began in reality.

Radical Performance

Engine Macroblock 2.7L

We required a

process of

complete

organisational

restructuring

“

15RADICAL SPORTSCARS |

BEST PRACTICE REPRESENTATIVE 2018

Monitoring change

For the first time, I could see what

was going on in the business on a

day-to-day basis. Performance is now

measured using a range of highly visual

and easily interpreted key performance

indicators that contain the vital

management information needed

to facilitate decisions and take early

corrective actions to keep operational

performance on track.

Employee involvement is vital. This

key information is shared with the

workforce to ensure they remain fully

engaged in managing the process.

The turnaround consisted of a series

of small improvements that each

addressed and ultimately remedied

a form of waste, while gradually

producing a measurable improvement

in business operational performance

that employees could see, be involved

in, and understand.

Underpinning the business

and managing growth

It was clear from the start that no one

thing alone would get the Radical

business back on track. Initially, our

priority was to tackle purchasing and

methods of manufacturing.

I have never been afraid to bring

in outside help to bring about

change; key to our success was the

appointment of Brian Farrington Ltd,

whose advice proved invaluable during

the transition. They helped to ensure

that commercial risk was minimised

through best practice contract

negotiation.

Radical Sportscars, however, is

essentially a marketing-led company,

selling a dream to people who have

the money to undertake what some

Formula One drivers have called “a

unique motor-racing experience”.

Radical customers expect the best from

both the cars we manufacture and the

overall racing experience we create at

Radical Championship events all over

the world. This is a claim supported

by the one million-dollar prize for the

winning driver in the Radical Australian

Series, which is fronted by ex-Formula

One driver Alan Jones.

To drive this part of the business, I

sought the help of a marketing agency,

the White Agency, to work alongside

our in-house marketing team. They

helped to ensure best practice in the

key areas of social media, internet

presence, customer communication

and the general brand marketing

across the world.

I also appointed a marketing director

with motorsport experience, and new

sales staff who now work within a

more structured environment, working

to clearly defined targets; these are

closely monitored on a weekly basis.

The future

The future now looks bright. The

company is now back in profit and

order books are full three months in

advance. We are market leaders with a

presence on five continents, exporting

to Europe, China, Australia, Korea,

the UAE, Kuwait, the USA, Chile,

Argentina, Sweden and Switzerland;

the Radical brand is growing fast.

We are market

leaders with a

presence on

five continents

“

Radical Sportscars team

www.radicalsportscars.com

This article was sponsored by Radical Sportscars. The Parliamentary Review is wholly funded by the representatives who write for it. The publication in which this article originally appeared contained the following foreword from Rt Hon Kwasi Kwarteng.

Rt Hon Kwasi Kwarteng's Foreword For The Parliamentary Review

By Rt Hon Kwasi Kwarteng

This year’s Parliamentary Review reflects on a tumultuous and extraordinary year, globally and nationally. As well as being an MP, I am a keen student of history, and I am conscious that 2020 would mark the end of an era. It will be remembered as the year in which we concluded Brexit negotiations and finally left the European Union. Above all, it will be remembered as the year of Covid-19.

In our fight against the pandemic, I am delighted that our vaccination programme is beginning to turn the tide – and I pay tribute to the British businesses, scientists and all those who have helped us to achieve this. But the virus has dealt enormous damage, and we now have a duty to rebuild our economy.

We must ensure that businesses are protected. We have made more than £350 billion available to that end, with grants, business rates relief and our furlough scheme supporting more than 11 million people and jobs in every corner of the country, maintaining livelihoods while easing the pressure on employers. The next step is to work with business to build back better and greener, putting the net zero carbon challenge at the heart of our recovery. This is a complex undertaking, but one which I hope will be recognised as a once in a lifetime opportunity.

Through the prime minister’s ten point plan for a green industrial revolution, we can level up every region of the UK, supporting 250,000 green jobs while we accelerate our progress towards net zero carbon emissions.

With our commitment to raise R&D spending to 2.4% of GDP and the creation of the Advanced Research & Invention Agency, we are empowering our fantastic researchers to take on groundbreaking research, delivering funding with flexibility and speed. With this approach, innovators will be able to work with our traditional industrial heartlands to explore new technologies, and design and manufacture the products on which the future will be built – ready for export around the globe.

And I believe trade will flourish. We are a leading nation in the fight against climate change. As the host of COP26 this year, we have an incredible opportunity to market our low-carbon products and expertise. Our departure from the EU gives us the chance to be a champion of truly global free trade; we have already signed trade deals with more than 60 countries around the world.

As we turn the page and leave 2020 behind, I am excited about the new chapter which Britain is now writing for itself, and for the opportunities which lie ahead of us.

Rt Hon Kwasi Kwarteng
Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy