the Savekers story

In 1951 Thomas Saveker, ‘The Governor’, was the guest speaker at a celebratory dinner for A Edmonds, which was celebrating 50 years in business. The following day, aged 73, he died, leaving his son to run the business. Unfortunately, Bert Saveker himself would die suddenly in June 1960 aged just 56, leaving his son Derek to take over. Following retirement, Derek’s son, Martin, ran the company until selling his shareholding in 2001, while remaining as company chairman.

In 1995, I joined the company, fresh from university. My earliest memories of Savekers were visiting the factory with my mum to visit her grandfather and my uncle, who also worked there in sales.

I must have been about five years old, and would enter the building through its large green doors and walk up its big stone staircase. I remember being in awe of the building, yet the distinctive smell was always friendly and familiar. Derek Saveker would make the most amazing paper airplanes for me and throw them across the office; he also taught me that most important of executive skills – how to flick rubber bands across a room and into a waste paper bin!

If I was really lucky however, I’d get to spend half an hour or so in the packaging area, counting screws and putting them into bags, once a box had been found to stand on. The first proper work I undertook for the company was when a relative was taken ill with pneumonia - I covered for him in the purchasing department.

In 1997, the company relocated. After so long in one place the move was emotional for all involved.

Just as plans were being put together to resolve the share purchase, we suffered a major setback when an electrical/chemical fire took place in our electroplating plant. The new senior management team were superb and assisted in us resuming production in record time and the insurance company paid up without question. As much as we recovered well, this had a significant impact and something we would never know the full cost of.

As with so many things, this offered up an opportunity. We acquired a business out of administration as we had space, and quickly followed this with a smaller acquisition. As we entered the centennial year, I completely rebranded the company to drive things forward and finally bought Mike’s shares. The cost of this was excessive, but we had no choice.

As much as I stand by decisions made and actions taken – the pain and hurt was real, but you can’t ever show this. The art of being a ‘boss’ is often being able to put on the brave face and get on with the job at hand. No one will ever know the lost tears and heartache; this was something I just had to cope with in solitude.

PART TWO

OUR INSOLVENCY

We’re all guilty of reading and seeing headlines with famous company names facing administration and thinking ‘oh, another one…’ and that’s it. Unless you’ve gone through it you can’t begin to have a clue what it’s all about. I didn’t.

Insolvency practitioners (IPs) know their job inside out, but they aren’t great at communicating this to anyone else.

Once we’d agreed the course of action, things started to slip out of our control. Our bank was told a day before we’d agreed and immediately our account was closed. We weren’t quite ready but that didn’t matter. Out of the blue, I was ordered to go to an appointed solicitor in the city centre – I had no idea what for or what would happen. I went alone and signed the documents applying for an administration order.

It was brief and cold, I literally paid £5 and signed, repeated some words and that was that. After shedding a few tears, I went back and prepared a list of who would stay and who would go. It was based on a current order book and we could only keep people directly involved. Again, it was cold and harsh. We didn’t know when it would all happen until the day itself. I had to return to sign another document at the solicitors, and on getting back to the office I was told that within the hour we would announce things to our workforce.

The only thing I could remember was insisting I did the announcement – it was my responsibility and with a lump in my throat we went down the stairs to the shop floor. I’d left a note on a couple of people’s desks just prior to this to apologise personally. I’d known so many of the employees since I was a child.

THE ROAD TO 10TH MARCH 2009

The question about when a company starts along the road to administration or liquidation is almost impossible to answer. I can think of some big issues that contributed, but there are so many factors. We can of course pinpoint October 2008 as a significant event as do so many companies and how the taps got turned off. We thought someone had unplugged the phones it was that quiet all of a sudden.

All of the issues relating to the economic crisis are real, but they don’t see the demise of a company that has a cash resource – we didn’t. Why? An aging company that had: exceptional costs when redundancies were made, untenable sick pay arrangements with an aging workforce, extensive fire, family redundancy costs, buying shares out at extortionate prices to free the company, greedy Union officials, a vast building and overheads, bank fees and invoice discounting etc etc. There were so many factors.

I personally feel that the company killed itself. The heritage was the downfall in so many ways. Everything has a life, and companies are not the exception. Savekers had been ill for years – from the recession of the 1990s possibly and despite finding cures for some of its ailments, ultimately life ends. What I was to later realise - thanks to the development of GLAS - was that we had severe misalignment. Misalignment, when left over time, leads to a terminal situation.

On visiting my cousin Derek Saveker later in March 2009 to discuss the company coming to the end of its life, he told me something I will always take with me…he said that he was amazed I’d kept it going for as long as I did. He said he’d expected it to die 10 years earlier. This is someone that had walked the same path I had and he knew better than anyone. Some of the responsibility and guilt I felt drifted away and it was like having permission to move on. I’d done my part and I’d done all I could. It was time to grieve and then remember the good times – just as with the loss of a dear friend.

PAUSE FOR REFLECTION

Obviously I got to a point where I’ve done a fair amount of reflection. I’ve always tended to over-analyse, especially myself and my actions. Going through insolvency is surreal in so many ways – things are taken out of your hands and it’s not something you can fully prepare for. So during my leadership, what did I get right? I don’t know whether it is fitting for me to answer this, perhaps my customers, my employees and those around me are better placed.

I guess I stand by the way in which I have always conducted myself. I have very strong views about honesty and transparency, fairness and sharing the vision. The point I go back to in my dreams is the day I told Martin Saveker I would carry out an MBO and take over. I wouldn’t change this – he was so right to realise things needed to change. The biggest issue within certain areas of the family was the “value” of the company. There was an inflated perception of value and so we wouldn’t have been able to sell externally and meet their expectations. I was the best person, and only person, to step up to the plate, and from that day onwards I did everything I could.

Equally, I was the only person that could remove family members who were detrimental to the business. I always viewed the company as just that, rather than as a legacy – so I thought.

THE BENEFIT OF HINDSIGHT

There’s nothing I would have done differently – everything that happened did so with reason at the time. I would still acquire businesses and it would still be essential to take people out of the business. Perhaps a better question would be this…

“Given a blank piece of paper and the knowledge and experience you’ve gained, what would you do…?”

The biggest single problem was the age of the company and the ‘baggage’ it had as a consequence. I was dealt a hand of cards and that’s what I had to play with. No amount of wishing and skill would have changed that. One thing I would do is create a better and ideal Board and it would include non-executives – but with the right DNA/culture to support a family business. I would also invest in coaching for myself. I invested in everyone else, and although it may not have stopped what eventually happened, I think I’d have made life a little easier for myself.

I’ve come to realise that as much as I believed I was running a business, I couldn’t remove the impact felt of being a family member. At times I had no employment rights – but I had the best apprenticeship going. I had to prove my worth and I was made an example of, that was the way. I didn’t work with my parents but their influence was very real, and Sunday lunch often involved discussions about the business.

One of my stand-out occasions when working with family and the impact it can have, was when I restructured the Board and consequently saw my uncle leave the business. He was also my godfather. Of course I went through ‘the process’ as guided by experts and advisers and ticked all the boxes, did everything the right way. However, as he left the building for the last time I was his niece. As he left his office I spotted my childrens photos in his dustbin.

This was extremely symbolic and incredibly painful – but understandable from his perspective of course. I drove home confident in my decision with regards to the business and the need to move forward, despite the image of the photos in the bin. I pulled onto my drive at home and put on the hand brake. I sat staring straight ahead with hands still on the wheel. Silence. A tear rolled down my check as I remembered the times I visited my dear uncle at work and sat on his knee - probably aged 5. I recalled the times he’d visit us at home and always brought a bag of sweets personally selected just for me. This would never happen again. The tears changed to uncontrollable crying – just for a few moments – as I grieved for the relationship now gone. Tomorrow would be a new day at work: business as usual. I wiped away the tears, composed my self and finished the day.

MOVING ON

I entered the company against the natural family system (it was only males and from a different line of the family) and therefore didn’t have the burden that my male relatives felt. I was able to put my own stamp on things and it worked well. However, I didn’t realise that even then I did have a ‘duty’ which weighed heavy. In the last few years, everything I did was to get the company to survive – for my mother, my cousins, my employees and their families, and not once did I think of whether it was what I wanted.

What I learned throughout those 15 years was unbelievable – about myself, my ability, practical lessons including: welding and metal polishing, HR, health and safety, management, financial analysis, MBOs, acquisitions… everything really. Someone told me afterwards that such experience was invaluable and simply can’t be bought – so true.

Ultimately, it was no-one’s fault; it was time. There can be no regrets. Our beloved “Savekers” has gone and is at peace now. By letting it go we have to let go of our own personal feelings – whether as shareholders, directors, family members or employees.

THE NEXT CHAPTER

So this is the interesting bit – what next? Well, I spent time working to provide other small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and business owners support and assistance, but I missed taking full responsibility and running a business.

I have had to take some time to recover and this involved using my contacts and experiences when helping other businesses. I have a passion for entrepreneurialism and see many businesses continuing to fail. Their leaders need some support, and so I still raise the issues surrounding it – from the insolvency process to development of entrepreneurs and of course all within family businesses.

I have a strong belief that we need to work to our strengths, and so I am also helping people to discover what their personal strengths are - as well as those within their businesses.

This also includes young and future entrepreneurs – while in further education we should support them to understand what their vision is and how to reach for the opportunities. Careers advice when we were at school was just appalling and it’s such an important time for decisions and development. I worked with a charity called Heads, Teachers & Industry (HTI) - an organisation that strives to improve the employability of children in the future through linking business and schools.

There is a need to bring real business examples into schools – give children access to the real world. Teach them to write business plans and cash flows – you will always need to manage cash!

When Savekers went into administration, I was unsure how I felt about our industry – shopfittings – but I did go on to undertake a full fit-out contract after the administration, and it has shown me that it’s actually in my blood and I loved every minute of it. I have been delighted to work alongside some of my loyal customers and it’s demonstrated how beneficial it can be to work in partnership with people you trust!

As for the ongoing process of administration, several month after leaving Savekers behind, I was reminded of how wrong the IP’s can get it when delivering news and that they linger for a considerable time. Since Savekers Limited went into administration in March 2009, my 3rd cousin and had personal guarantees hanging over our heads. I have to say that both of us had chosen to put this to the back of our minds…until later in 2009.

During the administration process I proactively helped the IP’s to sell the business – which we managed to do. At the time, I ran up £75 of expenses which were to be covered by the administrators. 6 months on and after several chases I received a cheque. The last 6 months had also been a time for the administrators to sell our 60,000 sq ft property just on the outskirts of Birmingham City Centre. We were assured that this sale would more than likely satisfy the amount we had guaranteed to the bank.

It always amazed me that during the struggle and lack of salary that my cousin and I endured at times, the personal guarantees we were forced to accept to save the business seemed irrelevant to fellow board members, the Union and senior employees who were all aware of them.

I wrote an email on a Friday to the IP’s to acknowledge receipt of the £75, only to receive this:

“I’m glad you emailed, need to let you know about an offer we have had on the property. It is at the lower end of valuers estimates but we have had very little interest to date and they have recommended we accept.  The offer has been forwarded to the bank for their consideration and I am waiting to hear back from them…I just wanted to let you know that there is a strong possibility at this stage that the bank will have a shortfall…”

And there you have it, on a Friday afternoon at 4pm the IP’s prove once again they don’t have a clue about people and how to deal with them. This is also considering that when I called them in initially, during the first meeting they told us “don’t worry, we’ll look after you”.

Personally, I I thought I was ready and prepared to deal with whatever the bank would have to do – but receiving emails like the one on Friday made me so angry and yet not surprised in the slightest. The lessons I have learned - even in the last 6 months of 2009 - were considerable, and I regard them as invaluable.

[the PG was finally dropped by the bank in 2011 due to miss-selling]

But back to the here and now and seizing the opportunities that lie all around us – in 2010 I founded my own business, Jeeves Services (UK) Ltd. However, this was really only to support people that I felt a responsibility for rather than my dream of running my own business.

As CEO of a manufacturing enterprise, I had the need for good quality planned preventative maintenance throughout the company. As a businesswoman and busy mum to Ben, Max and Emmy, I also knew that my husband and I often needed jobs completing in the house—everything from putting up curtain poles to cementing a garden swing in place. But finding a reliable and professional “handyman service” was impossible. I also found sourcing cleaners, gardeners and other contractors very frustrating when trying to run both a business and a family.

Standing by a determination to find opportunities through some pretty tough times, I set out on a new journey  – and that’s when Jeeves Services was born. As much as I loved the concept, I missed working in a family business and leading a team. I had no real passion for providing domestic services.

Taking this forward to Autumn 2012, I founded Families in Business Ltd (FIB) which I created to ensure a go-to place for family businesses, particularly SME businesses, exists. With exceptional professionals, suppliers and advisers sitting within the community, we make sure that a developing network is available for whatever and whenever there’s a need from family businesses. We developed professionals, bankers, accountants, IFAs, lawyers etc, to better understand the issues surrounding family businesses. After all, family businesses account for almost 75% of UK private enterprises and employ approximately 9.4m people. Still to this day over 60% of them fail to plan for succession – and need support.

In June 2011 I was asked to buy back Savekers, but you can’t go back and this prompted me to really consider my journey and what I believed the future held for me. Having recovered to a point, I held a real determination to prove my ability to myself.

FIB showed me that the pain I had endured was now going to be of benefit and use. Suddenly everything started to fall into place and I became the Chief Executive for this truly unique organisation that rather than offering fluff to family business it delivered real impact for day-to-day support in every sense of the word. The work that we were undertaking was exceptional and tackled all aspects of ‘support’ – as you would expect in a world of challenge and uncertainty.

Through FIB, I began to strip back the theories and research, and discovered that the consultancy being offered to family businesses had not really progressed - despite us being in a fast-paced changing world. What’s more, I found that the individuals in and around these businesses had common issues; primarily a lack of understanding of who they were and why they were in the business or doing what they were doing. They were anchoring to the wrong things; their surname, heritage and legacy, the business identity, wealth, being someones son / daughter etc.

Without a sense of true identity and purpose, I observed businesses that felt “stuck” as well as the families and relationships. GLAS was launched officially in 2017 but it is firmly rooted in over 20 years of hard work, tears, laughter and an incredible amount of research and practical application. I continue to use this framework to tackle family business issues , as well as issues in professional firms, for individuals, families and teams and school children.

WOULD THE U.S. VERSION OF THE STORY BE DIFFERENT?

It is a known fact that in the States, businesses failing are seen as a badge of honour and I love that. Peter Jones, Richard Branson, Steve Jobs – so many highly visible business people have been through losses and failures. Entrepreneurs bounce well. Again, it’s why I’m proud of my badge and membership of the ‘club’. Failure isn’t something I accept and just as with a broken marriage, it’s not FAILURE; it’s just part of a journey.

The Steve Jobs commencement speech in 2005 about joining the dots of life is so wonderful. He didn’t see the value of college and stopped taking classes he wasn’t interested in. He became interested in calligraphy instead. 10 years later when designing the Mac he was able to use this training to have the first computer with wonderful typography – which later was copied by PCs.

You have to trust that the dots will connect further down the road. He was fired from Apple - a company he started…he fell out with the Board and was publicly thrown out. He didn’t know what to do and felt a ‘failure’ but something dawned on him. He loved what he did and despite the rejection he started over again. It turned out that the heaviness of success was the lightness of being a beginner and allowed creativity to flow. He went on to start Pixar, the most successful animation studio in the world.

Again, I understand the feeling, but no-one could have told me that’s what I’d feel. So many friends and contacts have told me that going through insolvency was the best things to ever happen to them – and they are all very successful now. It has to tell you something!

Sometimes life hits you in the head with a brick – Jobs would tell you to find what it is you love, and do what you believe is great; don’t settle for anything less. You’ll know when you find it. His final advice is to remember that you should live each day as if it’s your last because you will be right one day.

Thanks to my work with GLAS and choosing to live my life with the benefit of this framework, I can tell the story with a better perspective; the 10th March 2009 was indeed the worst day of my life AND the very best day of my life.

With all challenges and low points in life, with a change of perspective and greater understanding, we can see the gifts that are presented by them, often through hardship. It is possible to have worst and best in the same sentence - both are true.

I choose to celebrate each day since the 10th March 2009, and be safe in the knowledge that my family’s business and it’s destiny were the greatest gift I could have been trusted with. This is legacy.

I LIVE WITH ALL OF THE COLOURS OF GLAS EACH AND EVERY DAY, AS DO MY FAMILY. EACH ONE OF US HAS A GLAS MAP AND TOGETHER, AS A FAMILY, WE DO TOO. I FINALLY NOW KNOW HOW TO SORT MY SH*T - WHATEVER IT MAY BE!