t2 business solutions worked alongside HCD Group for nine months to increase turnover by over £600k, and create a dozen new jobs.

To Dec 2005, HCD Group had an annual turnover of £6.8 million and 92 staff based in seven offices across England and Wales. t2’s business support team worked alongside the Directors of HCD Group for 9 months during late 2006 and early 2007 and during this time 12 new jobs were created, a £25,000 grant was gained for IT hardware equipment and a further £10,000 grant for staff training. HCD Group’s turnover was increased by £600k over the period and continues to grow with £8m+ expected for 2007, operating from 10 offices with staff numbering 113.

HCD Group provides professional consultancy to the construction industry including Building Control, Quantity Surveying, Project Management, Health and Safety advice and Civil and Structural Engineering with its head office in South Wales.  

t2 offer a variety of highly flexible, results focused business support solutions, including the General Support for Business (GSB) programme which is fully funded through the Welsh Assembly Government and the European Union. After an initial meeting with HCD, t2 recommend that the support they required would be best delivered through the GSB programme.

t2 business advisor - Kingsley Stock – was assigned to HCD and following the completion of a diagnostic review met with HCD Group Directors to agree a strategy in which t2 could best support HCD’s expansion plans.

HCD felt that the main areas to be reviewed included a sales and marketing strategy, staff recruitment and retention; IT infrastructure to support increased work load; management and employee training.

These growth barriers needed attending to in order for the business to develop even further.  Regular business reviews were scheduled to ensure that t2 and HCD Group were working together to overcome these barriers.

Short term HR advice was provided through consultants and a permanent HR Manager’s position was filled. E-marketing campaigns assisted the sales and marketing strategy and a £25,000 grant was received from Cardiff City to contribute towards a new IT solution.

HCD Groups annual turnover has increased to £8 million for 2007 and 12 new jobs were created within the firm during t2’s involvement.

Steve Hicks, Finance Director of HCD Group said: “t2 and Kingsley introduced various strands of financial and expert consultancy support and advice; most significantly for our IT hardware implementation and data migration programme. Prior to this, we had received no funding, grants or assistance of any kind. Kingsley guided HCD in the right direction and introduced us to the possibilities available. We have continued to pursue these avenues, which are making a considerable contribution towards the growth of the company.

“t2 are currently assisting HCD with the development of our training strategy and identifying our immediate requirements for enhancing our staff skills base.”

Kingsley Stock said: “The HCD Group project was very challenging, and I believe the firm was one of the best kept secrets in Wales. Their low profile resulted in receiving no funding towards their growth. We managed to encourage many new ideas and were able to organise funding to further their development. Overall, the result was very successful and has enabled HCD to move to the next step.”

Rob Marr, Managing Director of t2 business solutions said: “It is rewarding to see such a success from the GSB programme. HCD Group were a successful company to begin with, but had some growth barriers and recruited t2 to assist with these. Together, the barriers are being moved to allow HCD to expand even further.

“As a fully funded project, HCD were able to get the most out of free, independent advice. The end result was a great accomplishment and the t2 business support team is delighted with the outcome of the project."