Talking Business with Peter Done

In the latest in a series of ‘Talking Business’ interviews, Peter Done of Peninsula Business Services, chats to the editor of TheBusinessDesk.com Chris Barry, and Squire Patton Boggs Manchester office head Rob Elvin.

COMMENT

Another Done deal highlights the best of Manchester

The North West seems to have a gift for producing successful individuals such as Peter Done. The success of our region’s entrepreneurs has helped to grow the highly competitive legal services market in Manchester.

Over the last five years we have seen a steady stream of new entrants into the market, ranging from boutique legal practices to leading City of London firms; we’ve even seen some of the major accountants securing approval from the Solicitors’ Regulation Authority to provide legal services through alternative business structures.

The legal industry is undergoing considerable change, and differentiation for law firms has become even more fundamental to their survival. Consolidation in the legal market has led firms to reconsider their strategy; whether on a local, national or international level.

Like Peninsula, Squire Patton Boggs has seen international expansion as an opportunity for growth.  It is one of a very small number of firms in Manchester that has sought to provide a genuinely global service, by developing an international network of offices; supporting client’s needs via its global connections; and providing new services, such as its public policy offering in Washington DC. It is this internationalism which differentiates it from other firms in the North West market.

Peninsula has created its own niche by providing employment and HR advice to small businesses, 24 hours a day; 365 days a year.  Peter has identified an array of business critical advisory services that clients need, mirroring the work that a sizeable in-house human resources department would undertake. 

Small employers in the UK are able to benefit from a depth and breadth of HR-related expertise, whilst focusing their resources on the growth of their business.  With a client base of over 28,000 businesses across a variety of different industry sectors, Peninsula has successfully tapped into a sizeable market.

In a competitive market, key to Peninsula’s success has been excellent client service; something that we, at Squire Patton Boggs, strive to build our brand.

Rob Elvin, Squire Patton Boggs

 We’ve been ranked Top Global Legal Adviser in the Legal Week Client Satisfaction Report in 2014; the fourth time in the last five years that we’ve won our category, and while it is difficult to predict where the legal services market will be in the next 10 years, fundamentally clients will continue to look for the right expertise and a seamless service from law firms who can provide cost effective advice and generate real value for their businesses.  Peter has shown how it can be done.

Rob Elvin, office managing partner, Squire Patton Boggs.


Squire Sanders Logo June 2014

HE may be the lesser known of the Done brothers – hardly a surprise given that the family-owned bookmaking business BetFred carries his older brother’s name – but the entrepreneurial achievements and drive of Peter Done should not be overlooked.

AN almost obsessive focus on business, doing deals and striving to be better is the driving force behind most successful businessmen, and Peter Done is no exception.

As anyone with anything more than a passing interest in Manchester’s business community will tell you, the Done brothers are serious players across a multitude of sectors.

Their activities, underpinned by the wealth they have generated from the bookmaking business, range from property development, to finance, sports tours and employment and health and safety advice.

While Fred has fronted the betting business, Peter has for the last three decades transformed Peninsula Business Services from a small loss-making enterprise to the country’s leading independent employment law and HR consultancy for small businesses, and one with 1,000 staff and a growing international presence.

He explains: “The origins of Peninsula came when we had a  problem with an employee in Betfred.

“We ended up being taken to a tribunal, but were advised to settle the case out of court by our lawyers, who we then had to pay £7,000 in fees.

“I thought there had to be a better way of providing advice to other small businesses, and also came up with the idea of offering them an indemnity if they faced legal action.”

A small firm called PPMS which offered employment law and tribunal advice was bought, and although it offered a good service to its customers, it was not making money, and its sales and marketing efforts were virtually non-existent.

Done says: “After about a year it was still losing money and was going nowhere really – I remember our accountant actually advised us to sell it, but we had invested half a million pounds in it.

“We relocated it to Manchester, it had 12 staff and about 50 clients, and then made some changes – mostly to how they were selling –  and the rest is history. Today it has 1,000 staff and 35,000 clients and it’s all been organic growth.”the peninsula manchester

“I have loved the day to day involvement, of building the business and the brand, it has been fantastic. I am proud that we have built a great business and a great service.”

An early riser, Done wakes up before 5am, spends time reading the newspapers online and then heads to the gym,

“I rarely miss a day,” he relates. “I have run every day ever since I was 25 – it helps me clear my head.

“I used to smoke and drink a lot in my late teens and early 20s and if I hadn’t stopped I’d be dead now,” he states.

His commitment to health and exercise has clearly stood him in good stead –he is very trim and could easily pass for being a decade younger than 68.

Compared with the 1970s when he and Fred were building up their small chain of bookies, he says running a business has become much easier.

“The 1970s were a terrible time for business and for this country. The lights would go out two or three days a week so we’d have to hire generators.

“The newspapers would go on strike too – and back then they were essential. Without them we had no race cards. We’d have to get the papers from Ireland and go over to Liverpool to get them. If you can get through that, you can get through anything.”

Back in the betting shop days, he says he was always more interested in the service, sales and marketing said of the business, rather than the operations.

The lessons he learned then, have been vital as he built up Peninsula, in that his focus has been on the needs of the small business owner.
“There is no secret, no magic bullet – small businesses know what’s value for money and what isn’t. The three rules I have are service, service and service – it’s the key to happy customers.”

He says of his relationship with Fred: “We are cut from the same cloth, but we have different skills. We speak most days and have total trust in each other. We both still have the passion for business, and the enjoyment too.”

As well  business, the brothers share love of football, and attend most Manchester United games together.
BetFred  Fred Done
“We are very, very close. Any major decisions, any problems I speak to Fred.”

With this in mind, I ask about the Dones’ landmark successful £265m acquisition of The Tote in 2011 .

“I think we spoke for about five minutes on that one,” Peter says with a grin, “I trust him 100%”.

While the brothers often jointly invest, they also have their individual interests. While Fred has invested in a transport cafes venture, Peter has chosen to buy property here and overseas.

He has homes in Worsley, Salford and in the Lake District, and also has property in Miami and  France.

So, what does the future hold for him and Peninsula?

“A couple of years ago there was an opportunity to invest in a business like Peninsula in Australia, and that is going really well, and growing quickly. We can take it into New Zealand too I think.

“At home, it’s more of the same for Peninsula with our geographical growth in Scotland.  I am also very excited about hronline, a cloud-based product that we are launching out of Peninsula with its own management team. I am having a lot of fun and I love coming to work every day,” he adds.