An entrepreneur who led a £43m buyout of a thriving IT business has said an ability to "make decisions on a sixpence" would give the company an edge on its competitors as it eyes expansion.
Scott Haddow, Insider's Entrepreneur of the Month for April, is the chief executive of Trustmarque Solutions which hit the headlines last year when it was acquired in a management buyout backed by private equity firm Dunedin.
The York company, one of The Sunday Times 100 Best Companies to Work For, currently employs 215 staff and advises organisations on how they can use IT to save money and drive efficiency.
The majority of its clients come from the public sector, where cost savings are the name of the game, but it also has a roster of private clients including RBS, Lloyds Banking Group and Sainsbury's.
In February 2013, Trustmarque Solutions hailed the "most successful period in its 25-year history" after upping profits to £5m and increasing turnover past £130m in the year to August 2012.
And Haddow is not resting on his laurels. Trustmarque's competitors range from global systems integrators to smaller enterprises, but Haddow believes Trustmarque has an edge because of its people.
He referenced a flat company structure, which enables decisions to be made fast with "no politics" – one of the hallmarks of an entrepreneurial business.
"We make decisions on a sixpence. We don't need to have meetings about meetings. If someone has a good idea, we get on with it," he said.
The next 12 months are likely to see further news from Trustmarque. Plans are afoot for a new office, with Manchester the likely location.
Haddow said he has "two or three" acquisition targets and hopes to get one completed this year, although he admitted "it is not easy getting these things across the line".
Haddow joined Trustmarque as chief executive in 2009. Prior to this, he was a director at Computacenter UK and most recently group managing director at IT training provider New Horizons.
His first observation on arriving at Trustmarque five years ago was the "great people, loyal and hard working".
"The building blocks for success were clearly here," he said. "What it lacked was a cohesive strategy that could be easily understood. It was not clear where we were headed."
The solution was moving into managed services. "You start to create your own things or you die on the vine," explains Haddow. "You can't just be a reseller."
This was music to the ears of private equity house LDC, which had backed Trustmarque in 2006 and understandably wanted to see growth that would deliver a return on its investment.
This was achieved by introducing a wider range of cloud services, improved asset management and procurement.
Dealmakers who work with Haddow say he is a slick operator and an excellent presenter, who knows his market inside out. Many observe his ability to surround himself with quality people and bring the best out of them.