References

In this short piece I hope to explain why a high street cobbler is writing about wealth management.

I was born into the shoe business. The shop my Great Grandfather opened in 1869 grew into a national chain and in 1960 when I started as a shoe shop assistant there were 260 Timpson shoe shops plus several shoe repair factories. By 1972 I was a director but things did not go to plan. Following a board room bust up my father was ousted as Chairman and we sold our shareholding to UDS Group. Eleven years later after Hanson Trust bought UDS I led a management buyout and thus brought the business back into family ownership but it was not the fairy story I had hoped.

Shoe retailing was heading for trouble. High rents, cheap imports and escalating wage costs meant that Timpson, being highly geared following the buyout, was hit harder than most. I made the hardest decision of my life and sold the shoe shops. Fortunately I kept the 150 shoe repair outlets which formed the basis of today's Timpson business, which is now under 100% Timpson ownership. Through a series of acquisitions we now have 850 shops most of which trade as Timpson but also including 200 Max Spielmann and Klick photo shops purchased in December 2008.

It is not just what we do that is different it is the way we do it - I call it "Upside Down Management" 10 years ago I realised that you can't provide great service by following a set of rules. Exceptional customer care can only come if the front line colleagues have total freedom to run their own businesses, so that is what we do. It has worked-sales have risen from £35m to £150m and profits have gone up from £2.8m to £15m. The secret ingredient is personality. We try to only recruit people with the right attitude we are not interested in references or psychometric testing we simply employ people who "get it".

With all my money invested in the business I turn down every approach from any Wealth Management company but I had to take notice when Matthew Wille from Dart Capital gave me a call - he wasn't trying to sell me something he wanted advice. He was in talks about a management buyout and knew his godfather (me) had been through the buyout experience. I met Matthew and Richard at their office. I had gone out of duty happy to give advice but determined not to get too involved. Within half an hour my attitude changed. Here were people with the same switched on personality that I cultivated in my own company.

Their buyout could not have come at a more difficult time. The Banks were starting to shut up shop. The backroom bankers simply looked at numbers and sensitivity analysis. They did not fully recognise the potential promised by the Dart team. We invested and also helped secure the bank backing they needed - then, in true Upside Down Management style, we sat back and let them get on with it - watching them from a distance.

As well as an excellent first year performance we get an increasing number of rave reports about Dart from blue chip operators in the professional community.

I am delighted to see how Upside Down Management can apply just as well in Wealth Management as it does in cobbling.

I am a retired Consultant Physician who had an extensive private practice and was also a former Chair of the charity Barnardo's.

Richard Whitehead was introduced to me personally on the retirement of my accountant (who thankfully insisted that I start preparing for retirement from my earliest professional days) and Richard has looked after my portfolio and financial planning for the past ten years or more. I am eternally grateful for this recommendation.

During these years Richard and I have built an excellent working relationship which has provided me not only with extremely competent financial management, but also with timely advice and professional colleagues to assist me in dealing with the complexity of dependant relatives and the need for comprehensive financial planning across the family.

I was delighted when I heard that Richard and Matthew had taken the decision to buy Dart Capital and further develop it into a company that reflects the values that Richard stands for. I would certainly recommend Dart Capital to people like me who are looking for a long term professional relationship where mutual trust and personal attention are allied to evident competence and high ethical standards.

I am a high net worth individual, who has made my money building up businesses in the past. Managing the money I have made is complicated and requires a completely different skill set to making it in the first place. I do not have sufficient of these skills myself.

I have found the team at Dart Capital to be highly responsive and capable. They have given me sound and practical advice, and have carefully tailored my portfolio to my own family's requirements. They are prepared to take the time to listen. Their charging is transparent, and their administration very efficient - which cannot be said for all wealth managers.

I have always been a people person, and believe that to get the best results from them it pays to invest in them. In my opinion Dart Capital is a success because they have recognised this and as a consequence have staff who understand the meaning of excellent customer service.

I am a retired Solicitor and was one of Dart Capital's earliest clients.When they first acted for me they rationalised what was then a very diverse set of pension arrangements into a much more coherent and manageable form.

Preceding my retirement a detailed review was made of my with profit policies and Dart Capital were particularly helpful in advising me on those policies which carried guaranteed rights and on a strategy for utilising them.

I have always found them to be accessible, helpful and efficient in the administration of my arrangements and I am pleased to continue to be able to call on them for advice.

I am a lawyer and have been a client of Dart Capital for 6 years. They are excellent at proactively managing my portfolio. I like the fact that I am included in the decision making process. Each year they ensure that I add the maximum to my pension portfolio and they manage it in accordance with the agreed strategy.

I have been impressed by their attention to detail when selecting investments. They have been particularly diligent in ensuring that the administration is smooth and the costs are clearly disclosed and are kept to a minimum.

I understand that Dart Capital manage the affairs of a number of the partners within my firm and the feedback is always positive. I recommend their service to any busy professional who wants to be able to delegate their affairs to a proactive, sympathetic and professional adviser.

I have known Richard Whitehead for 5-6 years during which time he handled my husband's and my investments. Over the last 2 years or so I have also come to know Clare Wagstaff. I can thoroughly recommend both of them.

My experience of their work has been excellent. The investments have performed well. More importantly for me, I am confident that they understand well my approach to risk and that they manage my investment fund in accordance with my approach. They understand that there can be priorities other than getting the best possible return. They are able to offer a personalised service, which is important to me.

I am kept well-informed as to the performance of the investments with regular information packs received by post and also regular meetings. Whenever I have emailed or phoned I have received a quick and personal response. When I was widowed a year ago they dealt effectively with matters which had to be dealt with, but also were personally easy and sympathetic to deal with in very difficult circumstances. I felt reassured and that I was in good hands. They are efficient and courteous.

I can not think of anyway in which they do not perform exactly as I would want them to and my experience of them has been entirely positive.