A company’s size is often viewed as a reflection of its success. For example, how many offices does it have and in how many countries?
But chasing this type of growth has left a lot of businesses stretched thin, carrying unsustainable overhead and struggling to turn a profit.
If you consider that to be broad growth, the strategy at advisory firm Blevins Franks is very much about depth.
“People often ask us why we are not in Italy,” chairman John Stone told International Adviser. “There are perfectly logical reasons for us to be there.”
But as long as there is “huge unexploited potential in the markets in which we are established” there is not a strong enough reason do so, he explained.
Building a wheel
Outside of the UK, Blevins Franks has operated in Spain, Portugal and France for over 30 years.
The priority is “putting down deeper roots, developing our own people and setting up branches”, Stone added.
“We’re developing a hub and spoke concept.”
Chief executive John Simmonds added: “The best example of that is in Portugal, where the hub is in the Algarve. There we have a senior partner, three other partners, two private client managers, two paraplanners, three administrators and a fulltime marketing person.
“Then there is a sub-office outside of Lisbon with two partners, a private client manager and an administrator.”
The company has two hubs in Spain and two in France.
“We’re not even vaguely finished in Spain, Portugal and France,” Simmonds added. “We could go to Italy, but we would have to employ technical experts, plus there is the cost of setting up a branch. There is a lot of potential in the markets we’re in.”
Biggest challenge
Expanding into new regions, as Simmonds alluded to above, means recruiting technical experts.
One of the biggest investments Blevins Franks makes is in its technical team. Based in London, they are tasked with keeping up to date with regulatory and legal developments in the firm’s key markets.
“We are probably spending £1m a year purely on a technical team of cross-border tax and estate planning specialists,” Stone said.
But finding advisers and paraplanners who are suitably qualified and prepared to relocate is the biggest headache the company has.
“In terms of meeting the market opportunities, that has been our single biggest challenge. We can see gaps where we would love to have an additional partner,” Stone added.
“We primarily recruit from the UK because of the qualifications,” Simmonds said.
While moving to the Algarve or Costa del Sol may be the dream for many, “it’s not just about moving firm, it’s about moving your family and changing your lifestyle”.
The solution Blevins Franks has arrived at is to “grow our own”.
“We have some paraplanners who might one day grow into private client managers. And then private client managers who might become a partner.”
The B word
While Brexit may be inescapable, it is also mostly a mystery.
“We are having to do a lot as a business, in terms of dealing with the regulatory changes that could potentially come about from Brexit,” Simmonds added.
“Regulators have been writing to companies that operate cross-border asking what our plans are,” Stone revealed.
As part of the firm’s preparations, it has been in contact with the French Brexit department and Maltese regulator about its plans in a theoretical post-hard Brexit world.
“We would have to move our ‘centre of gravity’ into Europe and passport into the other countries,” Simmonds said.
“But if there is a deal or isn’t a Brexit, we would continue under the auspices of the FCA. We would always keep an FCA regulated business as we’ve got quite a big UK operation.”
