PR: How did you get into property and what is your current role within the industry?
SG: I have been an accountant and business adviser for more than 20 years and have worked with a wide range of different businesses in that time. Over the past 15 years or so, my client portfolio has gradually migrated towards those businesses that I really enjoy working within the property and construction industry. As a result, I’ve gained more in-depth knowledge of the challenges they face, and perhaps more importantly how I and Old Mill can help.
Due to the number of property and construction businesses we now work with, and the specialist knowledge we have built up, we now have a Property and Construction team at
Old Mill and my current role is to head up that team. And let’s be clear, I’m not a builder or a plumber or a carpenter – I’m an accountant and business adviser that has built up a wealth of knowledge in this industry, and quite simply I enjoy being able to use that knowledge and experience to help my clients.
PR: Considering all the various support packages, grants and loans there are at the moment for businesses, to what extent has the advice you give to clients changed due to the pandemic?
SG: At the end of March last year, the strong message to clients was ‘cash is king’ and how important it was to hold on to that ‘war chest’ because it was a liquid resource in their hands. Of course, having readily available cash is always important, but never more so when the world shuts down and you’re not sure when it’s going to revive itself.
While the various funding packages have been superb for those eligible to claim, the support available has been better for some than others. And even for those who are able to claim, the stop-start nature of the situation has made it very hard to navigate.
The rules around which sectors are allowed to operate and to what extent have changed countless times since the first lockdown in March, and this has made it very difficult for businesses to know when to remain in ‘preservation mode’ and when to start to go for it again and commit working capital to projects.
The furlough arrangements have certainly helped, as have the CBILS and Bounce Back Loans. But even with this financial support, most companies have essentially, had to re-write their business plans to carefully manage cash and working capital and ensure they remain flexible and ready for whatever the pandemic throws at us next.
In the construction world specifically, it is a real mixed bag. Over the summer, many businesses had some of their best months ever as pent-up demand helped force through efficiencies in their business. But others, often due to the nature of their customer base, have struggled throughout. For example, those whose customers predominantly operate in the retail or leisure sectors. As a result, some businesses will potentially come out of this pandemic leaner and fitter than they went in, but for many, it will have undoubtedly set them back for the mid-long term.
PR: What does Old Mill do differently to its competitors?
SG: I think the thing that sets Old Mill apart is our genuine passion for the industry and for our clients. At Old Mill, we work hard to develop a deep-seated understanding of our clients, both as individuals and as a business, and this informs everything we do to assist them on their journey.
For me, there’s nothing better than working closely alongside clients, getting to know them, digging deep and making sure you understand why they’re in business and what their long-term goals are. My approach often involves playing ‘devil’s advocate’ by not being afraid to challenge why they’re doing what they’re doing to help ensure they’ve thought it through properly. This way of working isn’t for everyone, but it leads to a much deeper level of conversation around the issues that make a difference in my clients’ lives and enables me to help them to both realise and achieve their objectives. This foundation is critical to everything else and is often overlooked.
Another critical area in which Old Mill differs from others is our understanding around when to bring in specialists. As a business, we have real bench strength to call upon when it comes to complex areas like tax, VAT or planning to exit your business, which means we are always able to bring in the right people at the right time.
At Old Mill, we truly believe that any business relationship should be just that – a relationship, not a one-way street – and getting to know each other and building up that level of trust is vital. I’m really proud, not only that my clients stay with me for the long term, but that they often refer me to others.
PR: What are the main challenges facing the construction sector in 2021?
SG: Until life as we know it can go back to any semblance of normal, the property and construction industry will, just as most other industries are, have to work around the various rules and restrictions in place, so the start of the year is likely to bring much of the same challenges already faced throughout 2020.
The key limiting factors that we have seen are the delays in supply of materials, and also the lack of consistent labour resource. By ‘lack of consistent labour resource’ I mean that, because of continuous self-isolation periods, it has been difficult to manage the work-force because there is no guarantee that people will be able to turn up to do the work, making running a business in the sector quite challenging.
However, we are now 10 months into ‘lockdown life’ and as a country, we are getting better at learning how to live with it and work around it. Many businesses’ have already come out the other side in terms of getting staff back from isolation, plus, the vaccination program is really beginning to kick in strongly now, so one would hope that these material and resource disruptions will start to diminish over the course of 2021. Hopefully, as things continue to improve, from mid-2021, the challenges facing the industry will not be quite to the extent they were in 2020.
PR: With MPs giving nothing away regarding any form of an extension to the Stamp Duty Holiday, a 'property scramble' near the deadline is inevitable. How would you able to help potential investors caught up in backlogs successfully navigate this?
SG: I don’t think investors should panic at all. There is a shortage of housing in the UK and simple supply and demand economics dictates that prices will therefore continue to rise over the longer term. Average house prices have increased considerably over the last few months, and I’m sure
we’ll see a correction to some extent in the middle of this year. Property is a very good and solid longer-term investment and providing that’s what an investor is looking for then my advice is not to enter into any sort of knee-jerk transaction. Of course, the flip side is that anyone looking to sell property in the short to mid-term might want to look to maximise value by completing by 31 March 2021!
PR: What property-related headline would you most like to read this year?
SG: Planning rules to ensure only quality inner-city / town redevelopment projects will be permitted.
As a result of lockdown, many businesses have realised that having staff working from home is not only possible but sometimes, a more efficient way of working, so it is likely that many will no longer need as much – or in some cases any - office space. There are also many independent retailers who have either been forced to shut or move their businesses online as a result of the restrictions placed upon them. As a result, it is likely that lots of office and retail premises in our towns and city centres will be converted to flats and apartments. And while this is generally a positive way of increasing much needed-housing stock, my fear is that it will be done on a low-cost basis to provide a quick return and leave us with poorly thought-out accommodation. And rather than being a positive step forward, this would result in backward steps in terms of social behaviour etc in those urban areas.
