Harrogate Advertiser, Business Pink Supplement 25th Sept
Contribution by Richard Carter, Chief Executive, The Nostrum Group.
We provide our products and services exclusively to the financial sector, so when we saw the start of the slowdown in credit markets in mid 2007 we considered what the impact would be on our business and, remembering Charles Darwin's observation that "Survival is ultimately dependent on the ability to change and evolve", we decided that a rapid change to our business structure was necessary.
To prepare for the lean period, we looked at where we could invest in processes and systems which would increase our overall efficiencies reducing financial risk whilst also ensuring that when the better times came, we would be better positioned to take advantage of them.
One such initiative was to create a new processing unit which targets those businesses which were looking to save operational costs. Our processes and experience mean that we can often perform tasks more efficiently than them and so we managed to secure some customers purely on the basis that we could save them money Since then, we have been able to sign-up new customers who want to benefit from our experience. We have high hopes for the unit and, from a standing start less than 2 years ago, we now have a highly credible business which employs over 20 staff in Harrogate and is recognised as a leader in its field.
Richard Carter, Chief Executive
