Tech boss Adam Binks said it would have been wrong to have boosted profits at IT managed services and cloud hosting provider听SysGroup听by taking advantage of the furlough scheme.听
The Liverpool-headquartered company signed a lease this week on a new office in Manchester city centre, which is part of Binks鈥� strategy to disrupt the market.听
The company has predicted that revenue for the year to March 31听2021听is likely to be 7 per cent lower than the previous year鈥檚 figure of 拢19.5m,听although EBITDA is expected to be up by 3 per cent over the same period.听
The fall in turnover has been blamed on the impact of the pandemic but Binks said it would have been 鈥榳rong morally鈥� to have exploited the furlough scheme.听
Subject to government guidelines the company is planning to return to the office on May 24 having been working from home since March 13, 2020.听
Binks said: 鈥淲hen we assessed the situation at the start of the pandemic we were largely underpinned by recurring revenue. Financially we were in a very strong position with a great cash balance.听
鈥淚f we鈥檇 furloughed听people听I think it would have been wrong morally. We鈥檇 have been using an excuse to take advantage of a scheme we didn鈥檛听need听and we knew there were far more deserving businesses out there for these public funds.听
鈥淣either did we need the Bounce Back of CBILS loans. The only thing we took advantage of was the deferral of our Q1 VAT payment but we鈥檝e since repaid that in full.鈥�听
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The pandemic prevented workers in SysGroup鈥檚 consultancy services division visiting customers but the company chose to reconfigure the business rather than furlough staff.听
鈥淲e know some of the competition did (furlough staff),鈥� he said. 鈥淲e like to be different and think outside the box.听
鈥淲e sat down with our sales and consultancy services听teams听and we engineered our processes and spoke to our customers to work with them to deliver our services remotely but to the same high level as before.鈥�听
The company increased its headcount during the pandemic to 127听and听 is听preparing to open its first Manchester office after signing a lease on a suite on the fifth floor of 55 Spring Gardens, which will become its sales and marketing hub.听
The move will see the company create up to 10 new jobs in the first 12 months, with ambitious plans to create a further 20 in the next three years.听
Binks said the move reflected the company鈥檚 growth ambitions.听
鈥淧eople have known听SysGroup听and me especially as being Liverpool born and bred,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e鈥檝e kind of always stayed away from Manchester, with the big competition being over there.听
鈥淲e needed to shake the market up a little bit. If I look at some of the听competitors听I can see they鈥檙e downsizing offices and encouraging homeworking. I decided to fill the void that exists in Manchester now.鈥�听
The company鈥檚 revenues have grown by 83 per cent since Binks was appointed CEO in 2018 and he said听SysGroup听was committed to a buy and build strategy.听
鈥淥ur plan is still to take the business to a 拢100m market capitalisation,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e sitting here today at about 拢23m market cap. That might seem like a million miles听away听but it only takes two or three strategic acquisitions.听
鈥淚 do feel as though we鈥檝e had a听one year听delay because of Covid. We鈥檝e not made any acquisitions in the last 12 months. Now, as we come out of the pandemic, I think we can accelerate that acquisition journey.鈥�听
As well as looking forward to returning to the office Binks is also hoping to resume his flying career.听
鈥淲hen I was a听kid听I always had an ambition to be an airline pilot,鈥� he said. 鈥淎s I grew听up听I moved into an听IT听and it took over my life.听 I decided to get a private pilot鈥檚 licence and I鈥檝e been flying for 11 years now.鈥�听
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