Profile - Nick Wilson: A personal story of loss amid the tough times of recession

For Nick Wilson, this happened 18 months ago when his father's death, from a brain tumour, coincided with the rapid expansion of his company.

Mr Wilson, managing director of Wilson Field in Sheffield, had worked with his father every day since he helped to set up the business almost 10 years ago.

Keith Wilson acted as a consultant and was an integral part of the company until he was diagnosed with a brain tumour and died three months later, at the age of 66.

Nick WIlson, 45, said: "He was such an effervescent character. I'm sure everyone loved him here so it was a big shock for everybody."

At the same time, the company was experiencing a boom period amid turmoil in the economy.

Over the last three years, turnover has doubled from 2m, to 4m. Operating profit has also risen. This year, the company expects volume of business to rise by 22 per cent.

Mr Wilson, who lives in Sheffield with his wife, Julie, and their two children, said: "There were so many things going on at the time, so much responsibility to see those things through, but the personal hurt was tremendous, too.

"I kept saying to myself, 'What would my father do?' He was very positive. I had a big responsibility with all the staff etc, and I just tried to stay focused. I always said work comes first and you've got to keep motivated – but, crikey,

it hurt."

He added: "The legacy is still there. He taught our consultants. He would have an ability to see solutions in situations that other people wouldn't have the ability to see."

Born and bred in Sheffield, Mr Wilson has spent his whole life in the city. He studied at Sheffield University before starting his accounting career at Coopers and Lybrand.

"Accountancy was 'A' on the list, and that's what I picked. It was either that or being an archaeologist," Mr Wilson

joked.

"I just sort of fell into it because my father had always been involved in finance."

He went on to work for a number of firms, including BDO, before deciding to launch his own company in 2001.

Over the last two years, Wilson Field has attracted larger jobs and seen an increase in the number of referrals from secondary lenders.

Mr Wilson said: "The main problems are where there's been pressure put on company directors to sign personal guarantees for overdrafts by

the banks.

"There's also been a lot of restriction on overdraft levels where banks are saying you've got to systematically reduce overdraft facilities. A case we're looking at at the moment is where the bank has asked for a 70,000 overdraft facility to be reduced by 10,000 a month over the next six or seven months.

"In addition to that, the banks are insisting the directors sign a personal guarantee. In some cases they are choosing not to sign the personal guarantees – and put the company into liquidation or administration. That's happened on at least half-a-dozen cases we've looked at in the last two or three months."

While the number of liquidations nationally has reduced over the last six months, Wilson Field is bucking the trend with more work than ever.

Small-and-medium-sized businesses form the majority of clients but the company is starting to attract larger assignments and has also been involved in administrations for a couple of football clubs.

Mr Wilson believes the Government should send a consistent message to businesses in order to help

them grow.

"There seems to be an inconsistency about where the Inland Revenue sits in the market place," he said.

"Sometimes we'll get feedback to say that it has got a directive to support businesses and then we get conflicting indications to say that their directive is just to collect money in."

But he believes banks are responsible for the economy's recovery. "The banks are the drivers in all this," he said. "Directors come to us and say it's the bank that has put them under pressure, the overdraft rates have doubled or tripled in some cases, so the interest rates have gone up disproportionately and they are just not being supportive of companies.

"The construction industry has suffered more than most. The funding that they need to go forward with projects just isn't there any more. We have done a number of administrations in the last month alone for companies in the construction industry."

The pub industry is also providing a lot of personal insolvency work for the firm. "The leases that people have paid premiums for in the past just aren't worth any money at all," said Mr Wilson.

"Typically, they may have paid 80,000 or 90,000 for a lease but it's not worth anything when it is revalued because the margins are so low and the amount of trade has dropped off."

Mr Wilson said he was concerned about the Government's forthcoming spending review, which threatens jobs and services in the public sector.

"The Government is thinking that the downturn in public sector jobs is going to be countered by an increase in private sector in terms of employment there.

"But unless the private sector side of things can get a kick-start through some banks being less restrictive on the funds they release, I can't see how there will be jobs created in the private sector," he said.

Wilson Field employs 52 people in its Sheffield office. It recently set up a satellite office in Leeds which it hopes to grow along with others planned for the North-East and Manchester.

"The main prerequisite to growing the firm is retaining its culture," said Mr Wilson. "It is run like a family firm."

Growth over the next year is expected to come from the secondary finance market, referrals for administrations and financial reviews.

"We are seeing larger liquidations coming to the practice and we are trying to build our referral base," said

Mr Wilson.

"Our IVA (individual voluntary arrangement) department has grown tremendously over the last year. We want to continue to grow this side and the number of administrations the company handles."

He added: "It is still going to be difficult (in the economy) in the next year.

"The restriction on lending requirements isn't changing and I can't see improvement in the liquidity in the economy for at least 12-18 months."

NICK WILSON

Title: Managing director of Wilson Field.

Date of birth: January 24, 1965.

Education: Birkdale School in Sheffield and Sheffield University.

First job: Coopers and Lybrand in Sheffield.

Favourite song: Fly Me to the Moon, by Frank Sinatra.

Car driven: Range Rover.

Favourite film: Wall Street (the original).

Favourite holiday destination: Egypt.

Last book read: Top Man: How Philip Green Built His High Street Empire, by Stewart Lansley and Andy Forrester.

What I am most proud of: The culture we have maintained within the firm. Although we have grown, it has not changed.