Newbury company wins Coutts prize for Family Business

BCMS named ‘Best UK Family Business, Southern England and Wales Region’ £5-25m turnover category’

Corporate Financier, ‘BCMS’, from Newbury, was last night named ‘Best UK Family Business,
Southern England and Wales Region’, in the £5-£25m turnover category of the Coutts Prize for
Family Business. The business will now go on to compete in the £5-25m category, at the national finals to be held in London on 6 June.

The Coutts Prize for Family Business recognises the best run family businesses in England and Wales, and compliments Coutts successful Family Business Forum that is held throughout the UK. Mark Evans, Head of Family Business, Coutts & Co, commented: “With a 300 year history of working with family businesses, Coutts has a special understanding of the enormous contribution family firms make to both the economy and society, as well as the specific challenges they face.

"Now in its second year the Coutts Prize for Family Business is the only regional and national awards programme in England and Wales celebrating the overall best performing small, medium-sized and large family businesses. The interview process acts as a company health check.”

Established in Kingsclere, Newbury in 1989, BCMS specialises in company acquisitions and disposals with a particular emphasis on the disposal of Small to Medium Enterprise’s (SME’s), typically with a turnover of £1-15m. Their clients are often family run businesses where the owners wish to exit for retirement reasons.

Michael Maslinski, regional chairman of the evaluation committee commented: “As a successful first/second generation family business specialising in company acquisitions and disposals, the things that impressed the evaluation committee about BCMS include:

·The thoughtful and intelligent way in which the founder identified a niche opportunity in a well established professional services sector, by taking the service concept to a new level;

·The obvious thought and planning with which the founder has brought three sons into the business;

·The ‘family culture’ of the company in a sector that is not traditionally associated with family businesses through the encouragement of a spirit of entrepreneurship at all levels, team bonuses and regular staff social activities;

·The innovative way in which the company manages company sales and solicits multiple offers to achieve the highest price as opposed to relying on PE ratios; and

·The many examples of engaged philanthropy including the formation of a family charitable trust the building of a school and orphanage in India.”

The Coutts Prize recognises firms in three categories (£1m-5m, £5m-£25m, £25m+) that demonstrate a combination of high standards of family governance and corporate governance, a competitive market position and consistent financial growth, and a track record of charitable giving or involvement in the local community. Entrants must be companies or firms where two or more family members together have control of over 25% of the voting shares and consider themselves as a family business.

More specifically, the independent evaluation committee was looking for examples of best practice including;

·ethical standards reflecting family values;

·effective planning for succession of top family management and non-family members;

·a means of returning wealth to shareholders; and

·a track record of innovation in products, services, technology and ways of doing business.

The independent evaluation committee is overseen by Micheal Maslinski, Director of Maslinski and Co, a London based management consultants. Michael is primarily known as a leading authority on the private wealth management sector. His clients range from major financial institutions to investment boutiques, family offices and family companies.

The evaluation committee for the Southern England and Wales region includes: David Harvey, Chief Executive, The Society of Trust & Estate Practitioners, Sal Laspada, Chief Executive, The Institute for Philanthropy, James Newitt, Co-director, M Newitt & Sons Ltd, Simon Pitkeathley, Economics and Business Manager, The Institute for Public Policy Research, Christopher Weston, Plaxbury Properties Ltd and Angela Yeoman, Former Chairman, Foster Yeoman Ltd.

Winners were given a unique family business cartoon sketch, created by renowned cartoonist Robert Duncan, depicting some of the more light-hearted moments of running a family business, and framed by acclaimed family business and jewellery designers, Boodles. Robert Duncan will also create a unique cartoon for each of the winners to tell their own story.

Coutts Prize for Family Business, South England and Wales Region

Nominations and winners

Turnover £1-5m	Turnover £5-25m	Turnover £25m+
Active Assistance*	Ashwell Property Group Plc	Dawsongroup Plc
Altrax Group Limited	BCMS*	Fresh Direct (UK) Limited
The Copas Partnership	Clinton Devon Estates**	Simon Smith Group
Cranmer Lawrence & Co	FWP Matthews Limited	Wates Group*
G&B Electronic Designs Limited	James Graven & Sons Limited	Watkin Jones & Son Limited
Manorcourt Care	M F Freeman Group	Wyke Farms
Shorts Group Limited	P & A Wood
TFM Networks	Start-rite
	Thatchers Cider
	Unicorn Products Limited
	West Country Motorhomes

*Winners.

**Awarded Special Prize for Innovation and Heritage.

BCMS was nominated for the award by Andrew Drake of Penningtons.

For further media information on Coutts contact:

Jo Thorne, Regional PR Manager, Coutts & Co on 0207 957 2650 or mobile 0776 6070 859 or e-mail joanna.thorne@coutts.com

Notes to Editors

·Coutts is the international private banking arm of The Royal Bank of Scotland Group. The Royal Bank of Scotland Group is one of the world's largest banking groups.

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