Making sense of red tape fuels Citation's growth

Helping hard-pressed small and medium-sized companies make sense of increasingly complex regulation is paying off for Citation, the health and safety and employment law adviser.

Privately-owned and expanding, Citation - which is run by lawyer Lindsay Hill - has benefited from the harsh economic climate as clients have outsourced their legal work to cut costs.

Based in Wilmslow in smart, modern office behind the town's Jaguar dealership Citation's strong performance is evidenced by its financial figures for 2009, which it has just filed at Companies House.

Turnover rose from £11.7m to £12.9m and profits from £2m to £2.3m - and the business is on course for another good year with more than 1,000 new client contracts or renewals already this year, compared with 1,600 in the 2009.

Mr Hill, who owns 30% of the business said: "We are in growth mode and we are optimistic about our prospects. We'll be taking on a further 25 people in the next six months and are always looking for good people.

He believes Citation - which employs around 200 people nationwide, half of whom are based in Wilmslow - is well placed to thrive because of two main reasons.

"There is an immense amount of red tape around and I think we provide a sensible and proportional approach to our clients' obligations.

"We don't go overboard and recognise that clients' don't want to waste money. The second reason is that we have good routes to market - strong relationships with trade and professional bodies, who promote us to their members."

Having looked seriously at taking investment from a private equity firms in the past, Mr Hill says Citation is not actively engaged in a process at the moment, but this situation could change.

"There's going to come a time when I want to hang up my boots, I'm sure, but at the moment we're just focused on building the business," he says.

Citation's senior management has already been strengthened by the appointment last last year of Julie Moran as finance director.

Citation has recently moved its banking facility to Lloyds TSB Corporate Markets. Relationship director Paul Stanley said: "Citation is well-known for building strong relationships with its customers, and that’s an ethos that I think we follow as well.

"Having immediately built up a strong rapport with Lindsay and his team, it was rewarding that Citation chose to switch its day-to-day banking relationship to Lloyds TSB.

"The skill of the Citation management team, its careful expansion plans, and the quality of its service, mean that the firm has a promising future."

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