Update
Leonard Curtis Liverpool celebrates decade of success in the city
Having led the Leonard Curtis Liverpool office for 10 years, Director Donna Crompton reflects on the increasing number of women working in the insolvency sector, providing genuine care to clients in distress
Leonard Curtis Liverpool is celebrating a milestone in 2023 as the city centre office marks its 10-year anniversary.
Launching in 2013, Leonard Curtis has since become one of the longest-running insolvency teams in Liverpool spearheaded by the companyes first female director of Leonard Curtis, Donna Crompton, and a 10-strong workforce.
The success of the branch has seen Leonard Curtis Liverpool recently move from offices in Exchange Flags to bigger premises in the city centre just in time to commemorate their ten-year anniversary - with the fresh surroundings offering vital room to grow the team over 2023.
The Leonard Curtis reputation as being trustworthy and people-first has even spread south beyond the Roman walls to Chester - with an additional office in this city helping Leonard Curtis cater to increasing numbers of clients in the North West and North Wales areas.
Donna says the transformation of the business since opening in 2013 has been astonishing. Here, the director discusses the first decade of Leonard Curtis Liverpool - and the future - in more detail.
How has Leonard Curtis Liverpool changed and become a female-driven office?
I couldnt even get more than two women to come to events when I first started at Leonard Curtis. I think for the first 18 months we were just trying to get ourselves established in the City, Merseyside and the Wirral.
But now I've become the companyes first female director, with the ability to expand a network of female professionals and really drive women in business and professional services. Ites taken a dedicated team of hard-working people who got us to where we are now.
Over the last 10 years we had outgrown our old offices, and the new premises really showcase who we are as a brand - with a hub for professionals to meet.
Weve grown as a firm now, and we needed a grown up office space. I think the new premises show our commitment to Liverpool we want to be part of that network and ensure people can come in and see us when they need us.
People are getting to know the brand and know us who we are, what we do and what service lines we offer right across the region.
What do you expect the key challenges to be for clients and their advisers in 2023?
We're now looking at how the economy performs and making judgments based on what we need.
Personal insolvency is a big area right now. With the cost of living crisis and rising interest rates we are finding more clients are calling the team for help, advice and options available to them. And thates where we come in. It's great to be able to help people during this time.
"Our debt advisory colleagues are also busy. We work a lot with our funding team to help people who need additional financial support in getting their business back up and running. Their relationships are key for our clients to get access to lenders.
I would say the key issues this year for businesses include HMRC becoming stricter and less understanding in relation to any taxes owed to them. We are also finding more cases where companies just cant get the staff - recruitment is such a challenge across all markets and sectors not helped by the rise in wages.
The European workforce is facing more red tape, too, which is affecting business. Imports from China mean they are undercutting businesses that cant compete on price and shipping containers have tripled in cost. Farmers are struggling with the adverse weather and shortage of labour, which is significantly affecting the farming industry.
Everyone is feeling the strain - which is why we are working hard to help.
How can Leonard Curtis support business owners in such a challenging climate?
Weve got a huge range of backgrounds and were well experienced in insolvency, with many team members having 25-30 years of experience. Weve brought in several key people over the past few years, including Director Lisa Ion, who is a licensed insolvency practitioner, and law graduate Shannon Hankin as an administrator assisting the managers on a variety of cases.
We have so many areas of expertise across the business - we really do offer a breadth of services to clients and the focus now is to drive these.
If ites solicitors or law practices facing difficulties, we call on Director, Andrew Poxon, who is also a licensed insolvency practitioner. We also have Hilary Pascoe who specialises in nursing homes, and Andy Bayley for restructuring scenarios.
If any job comes in, no matter what sector, we have a go-to person for it. Absolutely everyone is willing to help and get involved.
What makes Leonard Curtis the best team to turn to and why has it stood the test of time?
I think honesty and transparency are key drivers as to why people want to work with us.
Ites not just about insolvency anymore people inquire about legal work, time to pay arrangements with HMRC, all sorts. Were the go-to trusted people for advice.
We will always level with people and be really direct to get them the help they need. Also, I think the understanding and sympathetic way we treat directors and businesses facing difficulties sets us apart from anyone else.
We genuinely put our heart and soul into every job.
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