Our Story

The beginning

Collinson Grant was incorporated on 1st December 1970. Len Collinson, Director of Manpower, Plessey Communications and James Grant, Area Manager of Inbucon/AIC went into business as management consultants.

That same year Len’s former colleague Ron Fulford, a Financial Controller at Plessey, had left to become Managing Director of Stoves, a Newholme-Veritas company. Ron became Collinson Grant’s first client in a job to design and implement an improved payment system at the Rainhill factory near St Helens. A decade later he was an important conduit for many much larger assignments.

The early 1970s held some inauspicious signs for a new business: an oil price crisis in 1973 which heralded sky high inflation; a stock market crash in 1973/74; the three-day week imposed by the Heath government in early 1974 – in order to conserve electricity during industrial action by coal miners; and steadily rising unemployment throughout the decade. What’s more, the country made the momentous decision to join the European Economic Community.

Nevertheless, Collinson Grant thrived. A model built on proven skills, strong relationships and measurable results withstood this early economic onslaught and began to prosper.

Building a client base

Fine Art Developments, later led by Keith Chapman, was an important early client. The group and its associated companies, several headed by Phil Maudsley, have remained loyal customers ever since – for more than forty-five years.

Other early clients included substantial ‘Northern’ companies such as AC Delco, Duple Coachbuilders, Magnesium Elektron, N Brown Group and a first international client: Cooper Industries, based in Houston, Texas. The advertising group Mills & Allen joined up later, the Manx Government came on board, and towards the end of the decade Edmundson Electrical – a client now for over forty years.

Additional skills

David Jones and Pip Mosscrop join the business and are appointed directors. David is an experienced personnel executive with particular skills in payment systems and negotiating with trades unions. He develops and leads work on managing people and employment law – essential complementary capabilities to our core consulting disciplines. Pip has a background in work study and reorganisation. He leads work on distribution, financial controls and reducing costs.

Standards and traditions

High standards in written work have always been important for Collinson Grant. In the early days all manuscript drafts of letters and reports for clients are carefully edited – a heavy red pen highlights unacceptable content or grammar. David Jones was a committed disciple and insisted on correspondingly high standards for all his colleagues. His own prose was deceptively simple yet powerful in its message. Clients liked it. The business still aspires to produce documents that are accurate, concise and easy to read – not always an easy task but one it works hard to achieve.

Communication and relationships

Len Collinson is a natural communicator with a distinctive style. He starts drafting and circulating his first ‘Client Jogger’ and continues regularly until 1994 – a digest of business news, commentary and sound advice, often reflecting the economic and political mores of the day. Three anthologies are published.

Local contacts – international connections

Pip Mosscrop is assigned as interim Materials Manager and then Manufacturing Manager at the Pumps and Motors Division of Mather & Platt one of Manchester’s largest engineering companies. Our contact there was Eric Drewery who later provided opportunities at ABB Asea Brown Boveri the leading global supplier in the electrical power industry.

Ten years in business

Congratulatory telegram is received from Reed Hamilton of Cooper Industries, Houston, Texas:

“Congratulations to you, your partners and your Company on this big milestone. Since you Brits do not seem to like braggers, you will have to enjoy it with your usual quiet word. We Yanks say, ‘if you’ve got it, flaunt it’. An American says ten years is a fine accomplishment and I am sure the second will match the growth and be as interesting and challenging as the first. I will be thinking of you all on Monday night and wishing you success. Best regards from the colonies.”

James Grant dies

Since its inception he had stamped his own personal style on the business. Len writes in the Jogger:

“James’s death was a blow to everyone that knew him. He was generous, courteous and trustworthy in all his relationships, was a shrewd judge of situation and character and had an endearing sense of the absurd. James hated verbosity. Suffice to say that we shall miss him and remember the good times.”

Substantial progress

Collinson Grant maintains steady, profitable growth – one reason being its developing relationship with Hanson plc and assignments to improve performance in the group’s recently acquired businesses.

Hanson Trust was created in the 1960s by James Hanson and Gordon White. It grew steadily over the next fifteen years, building a reputation as a fast-moving conglomerate acquiring and radically improving the performance of companies in diverse sectors. The advent of the Conservative government in 1979, led by Mrs Thatcher, and its laissez-faire economic policies sparked a further flurry of expansion. It included a fortuitous (for Collinson Grant) acquisition…

…since giving CG its first job Ron Fulford’s career had progressed steadily, becoming Managing Director of Cannon in 1974 and then Chief Executive of United Gas Industries (UGI) in 1980. UGI became Hanson’s next acquisition target and the deal was completed in 1982. Somewhat unusually, Ron stayed on in the acquired business and over time became Hanson’s ‘ultimate operational manager’ leading the restructuring of many companies and eventually being appointed Executive Chairman of Imperial Tobacco (following Hanson’s acquisition of Imperial Group in 1986).

In an obituary published in the Times newspaper in October 2013, Ron Fulford’s approach to management was described thus:

“At UGI he (Fulford) had developed a system of devolving power to middle management by making the manufacturing and trading divisions sell to one another, turning them all into profit centres which could be easily analysed. Allied to a bonus scheme, this approach provided clear measurements of productivity while encouraging cost-cutting and better performance.”

…an organisational model used in many of Collinson Grant’s subsequent assignments.

Early work for Hanson

In 1982 Collinson Grant was invited to join a group that managed and improved the performance of businesses acquired by Hanson. This led to a number of important assignments for the company – allowing it to hone its skills in restructuring, cost reduction, managerial controls and organisation. And, perhaps even more importantly, it created the opportunity to build close and long-lasting relationships with the managers of the businesses in which we were working. The main Hanson acquisitions, operating companies and assignments in which CG was involved were:

1981/82 – Berec (Ever Ready) – restructuring and profit improvement.
1982 – United Gas Industries (Hanson ‘acquires’ Ron Fulford).
1983 – United Drapery Stores (Allders Department Stores) – reorganisation and support on employee relations over many years.
1984 – London Brick – reorganisation, cost reduction and acquisitions (later leading to large projects for Hanson Brick and building materials businesses in mainland Europe, the UK and USA).
1986 – Imperial Group (Imperial Tobacco) – cost reduction, productivity and restructuring (later integration of acquisitions in France and Spain).
1989 – Consolidated Gold Fields (ARC in the UK and USA) – management accounting, profit improvement and reporting systems.

Much of the work at Hanson companies was focused on the ‘integration of acquisitions’. This discipline remains a recurring theme for many of Collinson Grant’s subsequent assignments – in the UK and overseas. It is a skill that reinforces the strong relationships later established with private equity houses.

Private equity

Alan Payne manages Sapling Enterprise, the first regionally-based private equity fund in the UK.

Sapling Enterprise: Lancashire and Merseyside Investment Fund.

The early 1980s was a time of rapidly increasing unemployment; there were myriad initiatives, some successful others less so, to combat a politically and socially corrosive trend. Many were focused on ‘enterprise’ – supporting people taking their first steps to self-employment and helping fledgling businesses to grow. The sponsors included central and local government, charities and educational establishments.

Collinson Grant (CG) built a strong partnership with Lancashire County Council (LCC), operating under its banner ‘Lancashire Enterprises’. Louise Ellman (later Dame Louise) was leader of the council and strongly advocated the development of entrepreneurial activity. With her encouragement and others the Lancashire and Merseyside Investment Fund (LMIF) was put together. It secured initial backing from the Church Commissioners and Lancashire County Council. The fund was managed by Alan Payne under the banner ‘Sapling Enterprise’. LMIF was the first regionally-based equity fund in the UK. After careful appraisals it took equity stakes in start-up and young businesses, providing financial support with contractual buy-back arrangements.

Princes Group

Princes Group, the international food business based in Liverpool, becomes a valued client.We built a strong relationship with its Chairman, John Mackintosh. CG supports the company, now owned by Mitsubishi Corporation, in a number of different ways.

Employment law and HR services

During the 1980s support on employment law and employee relations continues to be an important component of CG’s services. With widely dispersed labour forces, care homes are in particular need of speedy and pragmatic advice on employment matters. Our model of providing fixed-fee support to employers using experienced employment solicitors and specialists and HR professionals proves popular and successful.

Westminster Health Care

Westminster Health Care becomes an early client and one of a number of independent healthcare businesses relying on the company’s advice on managing people effectively. Our contact, Patrick Carter, is one of the co-owners of the business. Later, as Lord Carter, he becomes an important client and introduces CG to a number of assignments in the health service and central government.

Work on employment tribunals

Helping companies to manage people better inevitably means helping them to resolve the disputes that crop up even in the best managed enterprises. From the 1980s onwards an increasing number of cases were referred to industrial tribunals (later re-named employment tribunal – ET). These handled disagreements between employees and employers concerning unfair dismissal, redundancy and discrimination – the scope increased as employment law gradually became more complex.

CG builds considerable expertise in handling applications made to the ET – advising clients on when to defend or settle cases, preparing evidence and representing employers. Some particularly difficult class actions are brought by trades unions and require extensive research and planning to defend robustly. One example is a large, international transport business with several hundred employees that has entered administration. CG successfully defends a class action based on supposed custom and practice on the level of redundancy payments. A saving on redundancy costs in the order of £1.5m is achieved.

Diversification and skills

CG’s experience in training entrepreneurs and supporting small businesses provides the impetus to create a separate profit centre to promote this work. CG Resources develops into the largest enterprise and management training provider in the North West and Yorkshire and launches a number of innovative products – some developed in partnership with the Manpower Services Commission. It focuses on smaller businesses and working with unemployed managers. Later on the emphasis changes to training in information technology.

Assessments

Work on using psychological assessments to help clients improve decision-making on recruitment and selection continues to expand. It plays an important part in helping to find successful ‘profit centre managers’ in Edmundson Electrical and other businesses. And it is used to support the recruitment of Collinson Grant’s own staff. This expertise had originally come some years earlier from a partnership with Alan Eisenbach, an occupational psychologist based in the United States. We continue to work with clients to assess their directors and managers so that we can identify the skills, behaviours and characteristics that contribute to business success. Those traits can then be isolated and used to design a robust framework of selection criteria and an assessment and selection process for future executives.

Sustaining relationships: ‘The Hanson diaspora’

The assignments to restructure Hanson plc acquisitions provided excellent opportunities to work with and get to know their senior operational managers. Close relationships were maintained with many of them which stood the test of time. As these executives later moved on to top jobs in other businesses we were frequently invited to support them in their new company – often in a non-competitive situation.

The Hanson diaspora created opportunities to work at important new clients. For example:

Ross Chiese – British Nuclear Fuels (and several other nuclear businesses)
Gareth Davis – Imperial Tobacco Group
Andrew Dougal – Hanson
Paul Heiden – Rolls-Royce
Bob Mackenzie – AA
Ian Tyler – Balfour Beatty

Manx Government – new employment legislation:

Towards the end of the 1980s officials in the Isle of Man realised that the island was vulnerable to potentially calamitous industrial action because of its outdated employment laws. Collinson Grant is commissioned to consult interested parties; develop proposals for new laws and regulations (with reference to Ireland and UK); redraft papers in partnership with sponsoring departments; support the Tynwald’s draftsmen in producing bills, secondary legislation and amendments to existing laws; and to support Ministers to get the new Employment and Trade Unions Acts passed.

Collaboration

To help promote work throughout Europe CG forms the ‘European Consortium of Management Consultants’ (ECMC). It is a group of independent management consultancies with a member in each country of the European Community (only 12 at the time). The Consortium offers skills and people to support our work throughout Europe. Colleagues are drawn from Aärhus, Athens, Dublin, Lisbon and many other locations. A dinner to launch ECMC is held at Château Sainte-Anne in Brussels. It is hosted by Heinrich von Moltke, Director General of DG XXIII of the European Commission and attended by a number of other officials. The event unfortunately follows closely after ‘Black Wednesday’ – when embarrassingly the UK has to fall out of the European Exchange Rate Mechanism (ERM).

Disseminating cultural knowledge

Château Sainte-Anne is on the outskirts of Brussels (near Waterloo) and its landscaped gardens contain a number of large horse chestnut trees. As it happens to be early autumn Len Collinson decides to educate our new European partners in an ancient English pastime. A ‘junior’ colleague is despatched to collect suitable specimens of recently fallen conkers and then to donate his shoelaces to facilitate the game. It’s not recalled how the critical ‘hole boring’ was achieved but after suitable demonstrations to our curious new friends a few rounds are enthusiastically played. The ‘ice-breaker’ is enjoyed by all, although colleagues from Greece, Luxembourg and Spain take some time to cotton on to the basics of this really, quite simple game.

An expanding footprint

More assignments are undertaken overseas mainly in Western Europe and the United States but sometimes further afield. For example… …Ascension Island is a remote volcanic peak sitting in the Atlantic halfway between Africa and South America. It remains an important communications hub. The BBC World Service maintained a broadcasting station on Ascension and also held a management contract for services it provided to the Ministry of Defence. Collinson Grant is asked to conduct a ‘value for money’ study at this remote location to ensure public funds are being well spent. Peter Sherratt completed the work in this unusual and challenging environment – trips back to the UK were via a military VC10 airliner.

Important new clients

The early 1990s saw the acquisition of a number of significant new clients:

Balfour Beatty – we worked on assignments in Europe and the United States in the construction and rail engineering sides of the business, largely devoted to examining overheads, organisational structures and the options for reducing costs. Later John Millin led work to help the company to adopt uniform Stakeholder Codes of Practice throughout 21 worldwide businesses.

Poland – shaping new employment legislation

The fall of the Iron Curtain meant that former communist regimes had to wake up quickly to a changing, competitive world. This demanded new ways of managing enterprises and people. Employment law and accompanying procedures had to be quickly redrawn and mirror more closely the approach taken in Western Europe. Richard Hendry led work with the Polish Ministry of Labour to reshape employment legislation fit for a new world. Other initiatives focused on the Warsaw Voivodship Labour Office and procedures for handling changes in the labour market. They were aimed at ensuring state infrastructure was better geared to dealing with closures in large, inefficient old communist enterprises in coal, steel and manufacturing.

Study tour in the United States

Collinson Grant’s involvement with local and regional enterprise continued well into the 1990s. During the Thatcher administration it was common for government ministers and officials to visit the USA to investigate novel approaches to training, productivity and education. These would then be brought back over the pond and promoted as ‘new ideas’.

CG Resources had forged strong links with a network of local Training and Enterprise Councils throughout North West England, Wales and in Yorkshire. Marc Sussman was CG’s contact in New York – an oil executive with a broad knowledge of business and contacts throughout the US. Marc helped to put together a programme of visits to colleges, universities, and state and federal officials in New York State, Washington DC and Los Angeles. In spring 1994 a party of ten chief executives, led by David Brown and Alan Payne, visited the US for a one-week study tour. They had the opportunity to discover ‘new ideas’ first-hand, discuss them in depth and judge how they might best be applied in the United Kingdom. The trip was rounded off with a flying visit to Beverley Hills including Rodeo Drive, and Sunset Boulevard.

Consultancy on the edge

Central Asia – Kazakhstan

The USSR collapsed two years after the fall of the Berlin wall. Western powers soon became concerned that the breakup of the centralised Soviet economy would lead to large-scale unemployment and eventually unrest in the dependent former republics – significant amongst these was Kazakhstan.

Collinson Grant won a contract funded by the World Bank to support enterprise and employment initiatives in this vast central Asian country. Working in partnership with the British Council, we prepared protocols for handling ‘mass layoffs’, designed and tested model jobcentres and provided training for employment managers. Although based in Alma Ata (the former capital) some of the field work took place in the city of Pavlodar in Siberia. Here enormous tractors were assembled on a scale suitable for working on the Steppes. The fact that the engines were formerly made in Volgograd and the transmissions came from Minsk only highlighted the potential economic turmoil. At the time the only customers for such large tractors were the Chinese – but as their economy was then so weak a local system of bartering developed. The factory received payment in hair dryers and other electrical goods, these were subsequently distributed to employees in lieu of cash wages, who then tried to convert their ‘assets’ into hard currency by selling them on street corners.

Working conditions in Kazakhstan were unusual. The temperature in Pavlodar hovered between -10°C and -15°C – somewhat tempered by copious supplies of vodka. Interpreters were Russians or ethnic Kazakhs – equally proficient and often with a startling command of British history, literature and language – Robert Burns’ poetry being a particular favourite of the communists. Back in Alma Ata life was slightly more sophisticated yet not without its dangers. Some colleagues were housed in Soviet-style flats next door to the British embassy. They were ‘guarded’ by a young man – no more the eighteen years old – who sat at a table in the foyer all night with a large revolver in his hand. Occasional gunfire, we were assured, was nothing to be concerned about.

Our efforts in Pavlodar were rewarded at a ceremony in the Town Hall when the team was presented with the city’s prestigious medal.

The business moves on

Not long after its 25th anniversary Len Collinson decides to step down from the company and leave more time for his other business interests. Andrew, his son, takes over as Chief Executive, having already managed a number of successful enterprises in the group.

Hanson: Our work in North America and continental Europe – a continuing relationship

In the USA John Ryle leads work on the restructuring of ARC, the Hanson aggregates business, and in particular the implementation of transfer costing procedures first developed in the UK side of the business.

David Norris had first met Richard Manning in 1986 at London Brick Company where Richard had been appointed Managing Director following the successful integration of the business into Hanson. He was then Managing Director for Hanson Brick after the integration of Butterley Brick. In 1996 Hanson Brick’s first major acquisition was Belgium-based Desimpel, a brick manufacturing company with operations also in France, Germany and the Netherlands. David led a team to support the integration of the business.

Richard Manning subsequently moved to the United States and was appointed as CEO of Hanson Brick North America in 2001. The company had earlier acquired Jannock Brick and a large assignment followed over the next three years to restructure the new business, introduce transfer pricing and relocate the head office. And in 2004 Richard was now CEO of all Hanson’s brick, roof tiles and pre-cast operations in North America. Another major project followed including establishing a new head office, introducing transfer pricing, rolling out quality systems and restructuring elements of the business.

Important new clients: diversity and global reach

Northgate – one of the leading van hire businesses in the UK had grown organically and by acquisition. Its structure had become unwieldy and inhibited further improvements in profitability. CG undertook a major restructuring of the company – on its commercial and operational divisions – to streamline the business and improve controls.

National Lottery Commission (NLC) – when a new licence to run The National Lottery is awarded to Camelot it makes hefty claims to the NLC for the additional costs of necessary severance and restructuring. CG is appointed to act as professional adjudicator on redundancy claims submitted by Camelot. Detailed investigations and negotiations eventually result in large savings to the NLC (in effect the taxpayer).

Priory Group – our experience with Westminster Health Care leads to work with Priory Hospitals and then Priory Group both led by Dr Chai Patel. CG does work on staffing, financial controls and then managing people.

Rockwood Specialities – CG’s earlier experience in the chemicals sector with Laporte plc leads to a major assignment to support this US-based business. Our contribution centred on helping to sustain performance and clarify options for growth. Phil Davies works on developing a worldwide manufacturing and marketing strategy for the compounding business. And then to analyse global supply chains – examining costs, technical capabilities, capacities and demand – for different product groups and in different continents.

Building pan-European businesses

CG undertakes more research into the design of businesses that operate seamlessly throughout the European continent. The report concludes:

‘Pan-European structures follow from a radical examination of markets, supply chains and the structure of costs. There is no single market in Europe but there is a multiplicity of different consumer and business-to-business groupings. What is certain is that more and more often these are not defined by national boundaries’.

The research generates useful discussions and leads directly to work with a new client that is attempting to create a pan-European commercial structure. We worked with its country managers at a seminar in Oslo to develop and test new ideas.

Room for growth

The company’s premises at Colgran House in Swinton, Manchester are becoming too small. Ryecroft, a large, former children’s home becomes available in nearby Worsley. After extensive refurbishment and modernisation the company relocates in late 2002. It is an excellent location – in landscaped grounds – close to the motorway network and to Manchester airport. Our offices in central London are situated close to Whitehall.

Manchester and Warwick Business Schools

Collinson Grant undertakes research in collaboration with Manchester and Warwick Business Schools. Later it sponsors Morten Andersen, a Danish postgraduate student, to complete his PhD studies at Warwick into pan-European acquisitions and the subsequent transfer of employment practices. Morten goes on to have a successful career in pharmaceutical market research.

Improving performance in private healthcare – McKesson UK

McKesson Corporation, the 16th largest industrial company in the USA, is the main supplier of information, products and services for care management. Following several difficult acquisitions CG is asked to restructure its UK division. Consultants worked with local managers to analyse work streams and the profitability of customers and products, as the basis for creating a recovery plan. They managed the redundancy programme and consultation with the trades unions. The work improved the organisational structure and quickly transformed the profitability of the business.

Managing costs in the public sector

In 2004 Sir Peter Gershon was commissioned by the Labour government to review efficiency throughout the public services. In line with this initiative Collinson Grant is asked to test the efficiency and effectiveness of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office’s (FCO’s) field organisation. The exercise, led by John Millin, Jon Park and John Ryle, samples the work of almost 3,000 employees at fifteen embassies and consulates throughout the world – including Accra, Beirut, Bratislava, Colombo, Mexico City, Paris and St Petersburg, as well as support functions in London. CG’s report, at times controversial, shows how up to 1,200 jobs could be saved in the UK and overseas. It also illustrates how working practices and managerial controls could be improved. This ground-breaking work was reviewed by the Select Committee on Foreign Affairs in the House of Commons and was considered important enough to warrant a front-page article in the Financial Times about CG’s work.

Success at the Foreign Office led to a number of other significant jobs to restructure, reduce costs and improve productivity in central government departments, including:

• Department of Health
• Her Majesty’s Prison Service
• Home Office
• Ministry of Justice
• Office for Criminal Justice Reform
• UK Border Agency.

‘Breaking bread’ – building relationships, sharing experience

The Royal Automobile Club’s comfortable premises in London’s Pall Mall are the venue for a programme of regular dinners for clients and leading decision makers. The events help to share ideas and experience. Since they first began in 2005 hundreds of senior managers and business contacts have been invited to attend stimulating, informal evenings in a private setting. CG also regularly invites clients to the Confederation of British Industry’s annual dinner in London.

Analysing the cost of NHS Pathology Services

Our solid experience in healthcare leads to an invitation by Lord Carter of Coles (former co-owner of Westminster Health Care) to contribute to this important study. The objectives were to increase capacity and capability in pathology services, and reduce unit costs. Collinson Grant runs a nationwide programme to collect, test and analyse information from twelve pilot sites; to liaise with The Royal College of Pathologists and other industry bodies; and to challenge NHS data and consider evidence from international comparators in the private sector. Lord Carter’s report recognised opportunities for large cost-savings and signalled significant changes to the provision of pathology services throughout the NHS.

The work in pathology leads on to other assignments in the health service: development of workforce planning tools; processes for improving staff rostering and a benchmarking tool.

Disseminating good practice

Collinson Grant starts to publish a series of management handbooks drawing on experience and skills built up over forty years working with clients:

• Improving performance in central Government – 2009
• Managing indirect costs – 2010
• Managing productivity – 2011
• Managing restructuring – 2012
• Managing organisational design – 2012
• Managing third party expenditure – 2017

The work in pathology leads on to other assignments in the health service: development of workforce planning tools; processes for improving staff rostering and a benchmarking tool.

Interim management (and executive recruitment)

Supplying experienced senior managers for interim appointments has always been a feature of CG’s work. An interim manager is one of the most efficient and cost-effective solutions for unexpected demand, planning for change, hard-to-fill senior jobs, as well as crisis management. It complements and supports many consultancy assignments. An increased demand for this service from clients leads to the establishment of a dedicated team to find and place suitable managers in challenging positions. Assignments range from executives with responsibility for managing large enterprises to specialists in HR, finance, security and the supply chain – in the UK and continental Europe.

Watershed – a new era for human resources and employment law

Managing people effectively and within the law has been an integral part of Collinson Grant’s services since the 1970s. Our human resources (HR), assessment and employment law services were rebranded as Watershed in 2018. We are a solicitors’ practice with commercially minded employment lawyers and HR professionals. Watershed helps managers to deal with everyday contractual questions and more difficult employment disputes. It provides a fully outsourced HR service and flexible and fixed-fee support.

This ‘new’ business draws on Collinson Grant’s experience in advising employers on all aspects of managing people, continues to work in a close partnership with the management consultancy and shares its resources.

Employment tribunals remain a core part of our work. In a two-year period we have dealt with 104 employment tribunal claims and had a successful outcome (settled to the client’s satisfaction, withdrawn by claimant or won at tribunal) in 103 of those tribunals – a 99% success rate.