Better Business with BritainZentuvo
Thank you for your honest and practical advice.
Mike Ljungberg-Tvedt
CMO Zentuvo AS
Jeeves Information Systems
It is a pleasure to work with you.
Charlotte Stålhandske
Group controller, Jeeves Information Systems AB
Purus
In May 2007 I had the pleasure to attend an information meeting in Birmingham and Warwick for Swedish companies interested to invest in the UK. I was really lucky to meet Martin Williams who understood that our ideas about the “wet room concept” could be of some interest for the UK market.
It was then arranged a meeting in Sweden at the 2nd of July where we got a presentation by Peter Bradbourne and Martin Williams of a market plan for entering the UK market and a basic concept of how to organize our own company Purus Ltd. This was a very important decision and this was something new for the Purus Group because our growth was based on acquisitions and not on organic growth by geographical expansion. If I remember correctly I also needed a couple of days of thinking before we took the decision to go ahead. But how could it go wrong with such a strong concept and with such a good team.
The next step was to participate at the Interbuild at the end of October 2007. There I got the pleasure to meet Helen and now I knew we would be in good hands. Interbuild gave the positive response we wanted and after that we went on to built up the organization further by employing Diane and John.
Despite very tough times with financial crisis has the development during 2008 and 2009 been a great success and we are really satisfied with the market position we have achieved. We have, with more or less only two products, gone from nothing to a turnover of more than 500 000 £ for 2009, which is not bad. After Suzie’s entrance at EBS we have also got very good order of the financial reporting for which we are most grateful.
We are now coming to a new chapter in the history of Purus Ltd and that is to establish our own office with good facilitation for demonstrating our products. We also feel that it is time to change the shared responsibility between EBS, the people from Purus Ltd and the people from Purus AB. Even if everything has worked out in a smooth and proper way I believe that time has come to give a more direct responsibility to the employees of Purus Ltd. That include everything connected with administration work and also with customer relations.
I was up in UK on this Thursday-Friday and I now feel confident about moving on. Our plan is to move in our new office on Monday the 29th March and to take over the administrative work from April 1.
In a way it feels sad to leave the fantastic co-operation we have had with EBS but this seems to be the next natural step on our British journey. I am most grateful for the assistance we have got from EBS and it has always been a pleasure working with you. I wish you all the best in the future and. If I can be of any help for recommendations or whatsoever please feel free to contact me.
Göran Lundin Group CEO
Klintens
Our company is engaged in the paint business with production and sales around in Europe and North America. Early in 1995 we decided to establish an own sales organisation in England and a company. We did not want to employ administrative staff at this stage but rather to hire such resources. But certainly we needed a registered office with normal functions and services so that customers, banks etc really had the impression that they were dealing with own representatives of the company.
After some research with various accounting firms in England without success, I was contacted by Martin Williams of EBS and we soon met. The company’s business concept seemed to be exactly what we needed and we started up a co-operation in May 1995.
Martin Williams got started very quickly and arranged all practical matters such as company registration procedures, car leasing, insurances, bank contacts, telephone, fax, accounting and computer routines, hiring of storage facilities and transportation services.
The co-operation with Martin Williams and his staff has worked to our fill satisfaction in all respects. For example, the monthly financial and management reporting to the Swedish parent company is complete, correct and in time. EBS is also responsible for collection procedures of customer invoices which is a very valuable service to us.
What I and also the sales staff in Klintens UK has appreciated in particular with EBS is that they have always provided us with good ideas and solutions in various areas and that they act and react very expediently.
The reason that we now after more than a year of co-operation is stepping out, is a consequence of company merges and reorganisation.
I am very happy to have worked with Martin Williams and his professional staff and would very much like to recommend EBS to any company which is considering to start up business in England.
Fredrik Högstedt
Group Controller
Medical Systems AB
This is to confirm that I have known Mr Martin Williams for a number of years. Mr Williams has been working for Swedish companies for a very long time and I have especially enjoyed working with Mr Williams when he was company secretary for a Swedish affiliated company in the UK where I was Chairman of the Board and President for the group of companies.
It was a pleasure to have such a professional control of all activities in the company when Mr Williams was responsible for all reports to Sweden.
Mr Willliams showed a high competence on marketing, company administration and financial consulting.
Mr Williams is an honest, trustworthy and reliable person who also can stimulate and motivate his colleagues.
I wish Mr Williams all success in the future and can recommend him to anybody who wants to share his knowhow and experience.
Lars Rönnqvist
Managing Director
Rosenlew Emballage AB
Martin Williams has worked for our company since 1975. Our business in England, which in time developed into a sales company with an annual turnover of SEK 70 million, was managed by Martin in the best way. Without a qualified English colleague, it is difficult to build up useful contacts with authorities, banks and so on.
Martin has also gradually acted as Company Secretary and Director for our subsidiary. He has performed all that work within administration and economy, which is difficult to handle at a distance, for example agreements, contracts, collecting, account and legal matters.
Martin is a good mixer. He is kind, candid and understanding. Particularly I would like to emphasise that Martin understands what a Swedish commitment in England means, above all concerning preparations. Martin’s knowledge of for example marketing strengthens his possibilities to handle new establishments.
We highly recommend Martin Williams for the kind of tasks he has handled for our company. Those who engage Martin will get a loyal and well informed friend of Sweden.
Lennart Sjögren
Managing Director
Perstorp Flooring
I would like to confirm my appreciation of all the assistance which we have received at Perstorp Flooring from EBS from the time we started to work with you in October 1993 through to the point where we finally completed our separation and became a fully self standing business in June 1996.
In the early days EBS supplied all the administrative, financial and logistical support to Perstorp Flooring, enabling me as the only person employed in the business to concentrate on developing the sales. Without this excellent range of comprehensive and flexible support I would not have been able to devote the time necessary to developing the sales and building the base for the company we have today.
As Perstorp Flooring developed, so the services you provided to us were altered to meet our ever changing and growing demands, and I shall always be grateful for your flexibility and support through the very difficult growing stages of our company.
As you are aware, we are now completely self standing with healthy sales growth and an effective combination of Swedish and British employers here at out new offices. However, I would like you to be aware that we know that we could not have achieved this without the support and encouragement of EBS.
I would like to wish you success in your business, and to assure you that you will always be welcome to visit us here.
Peter Bradbourne
Director of Sales & Marketing
Scaba AB
We started to co-operate with EBS in 1995. Our company manufacture equipment for the process industry and we have previously used local agents, or our own personnel, travelling from Sweden, for our sales in the UK. The purpose was to establish our company on the UK market seriously because the strategies mentioned above had not worked with a satisfactory result.
EBS have during our year of co-operation completed their job with our full satisfaction. We have, even earlier, had our own daughter company registered in the UK where the book-keeping was done by our local agent. This work turned out to be very poor. The first thing EBS did was to clean up this “mess” and everything is today in perfect shape. We have experienced many advantages by co-operating together with EBS. We would specially like mention the following:-
- Our own telephone number in our own name, which gives the customer a feeling of our company being close to the market
- Quick forwarding of information, by telephone and fax, that the customer wants/needs to get through to us. Many customers think that our personnel are located at the EBS offices.
- It has been much easier for us to get our invoices paid. The customers tend to pay very late in the UK, EBS have a very effective control system with effective personnel to go with itWe are of the opinion that EBS have a very good understanding of how business functions in the UK and we have very high confidence in them, which have given us many advantages in our sales efforts.
The reason that we now stop doing business with EBS is that our company has been taken over by another, much larger, company which already have operations in the UK.
The undersigned therefore warmly wants to recommend other companies, who want to establish their company in the UK market, to use EBS with Martin Williams for this purpose.
Alexander Luiga
Area Manager, UK
Salair
I have known Martin Williams for about six years. Martin has got a great deal of experience in working with Swedish companies. In my job as a chief accountant and Accounting Manager in the TENO-group I had almost once a week contacts with Martin. He was the responsible person in reporting and financing in the Teno UK Ltd. Martin is also a member of the board of this company in which I also joined. Before Mediplast Ltd were sold he had the same functions in this company which also belonged to the TENO-group.
During my period in TENO Martin had a wide function, more like a consultant in marketing, company administration and financial matters. As UK became the most important export market for TENO we had very good use for Mr Williams.
Martin Williams is an honest, trustworthy and reliable person and I can strongly recommend him for duties in the above mentioned areas.
Lennart Björk
Chief Accountant