Profile: Peter Constance

SOME experiences must send a shiver down the spine of the hardiest traveller.

Back in the 1970s, a band of players from the Oxford and Cambridge Shakespeare Company arrived in New York. They were looking forward to a three and a half month amble around the US, performing a Midsummer Night’s Dream.

The company included Peter Constance, a budding young actor and musician.

The trip got off to a shaky start.

“When we first arrived at JFK, this young chap introduced himself as our driver for the next 10,000 miles, and proceeded to reverse the bus into a wall,” Mr Constance recalled.

Thankfully, Mr Constance and the rest of his team survived their trek around the US, and brought back colourful memories.

“We appeared in some really diverse places,” Mr Constance recalled. “We played in front of 5,000 people in a huge dome at El Paso, but at the other extreme, there were some bizarre places.

“There was one place where there was a replica of the Globe theatre in the middle of nowhere, in a tiny little town, in a dry county, where you couldn’t even get a beer.”

More than 35 years later, Mr Constance is at the helm of a Yorkshire software firm which, according to its PR pitch, is on a mission to help major banks and price comparison websites promote responsible lending. It’s not such a strange career shift as you might think.

Mr Constance can read a computer programme as easily as a line of music.

A music and philosophy graduate from Keele University, Mr Constance’s passion for the performing arts earned him a place on the theatre company’s tour of the US.

A player’s life can be nomadic, and the rewards modest. The shadow of the Yorkshire Ripper hung over Leeds when he arrived in the city in the late 1970s.

“It was a very rough, grimy place,” Mr Constance recalled. “It was quite scary as well, The Ripper was still at large. I lived for a while in one of the streets where one of the murders took place.

“Those were very dark days, but it’s so different now, it’s such a vibrant city.

“Making money out of music is very, very hard,” he recalled. “It got to the point where I needed to make a living. I recalled that I’d had this strong interest in software programming. It was a great time to be moving into it. It was right at the beginning of the software boom.

“I did a Government training course and got a job at a local software company. I was there for about five years, doing a bit of everything, What encouraged me to take the leap, and found my own business, was the sense that I could do it better. I was very fortunate to get backing from 3i (the private equity firm) and we’ve not looked back since.”

After impressing 3i with his business plan, he established Pancredit, a loan administration software firm, in 1988.

After surviving two recessions, Pancredit aims to help banks and lenders cut costs by ensuring that those applying for credit are steered towards financial products they can afford.

Pancredit’s automated checking system aims to save consumers hours of frustration.

It also aims to stop consumers from applying for products that don’t suit them.

As a result, the software can make the business of processing loan applications more efficient.

According to Mr Constance, price comparison sites are benefiting as well, because they earn a referral fee each time they channel a successful application to the lender.

By integrating Leeds-based Pancredit’s system – which it describes as an “intelligent comparison engine” – a price comparison site can become more than just a shop window for loans.

This boosts application conversions and, as a result, profits, according to Pancredit.

After a decade of rapid growth, Mr Constance stepped back from the day-to-day running of the company in 1998 and became a non-executive director.

He returned to his first love, music, and ran an independent record label and a music publisher. He also managed the American blues band, Preacher Boy, for a time, who played at Glastonbury.

By 2001, he was itching to resume a hands-on role, and became Pancredit’s technical director, before resuming as managing director in October 2003.

Since then, Mr Constance has steered the company through a venture capital funding with Shackleton Ventures and a share buyback in 2012.

Interest rates have been at a record low for years, but at some point they will rise, and consumers will feel the pinch.

Lenders will have to be braced for the problems that will follow.

“A large number of people are squeezed to the max at the moment,” Mr Constance added.

“A half a per cent rise, or a one per cent rise, would hit millions of people really hard.

“You’d see a big increase in defaults.

“Lenders will have to change their behaviour in the way they deal with people in defaults.

“They’re going to have to be a lot more sympathetic than they have in the past, so there will be a big shift to collections activity and helping people to manage their debt.

“That’s an area we’re investing in now. Another big area for us is business intelligence.”

Over the last quarter of a century, technology has revolutionised the way we communicate. Despite this, the UK’s IT sector is screaming out for skilled staff.

“When I was learning to programme, programming was very much about writing code and seeing results,” said Mr Constance.

“Exposure to technology these days is very different. I think it’s recognised that there is a problem and the Government has been talking about the need to boost awareness of IT in schools, and get back to a more basic understanding of IT, rather than it just be something you play with on your phone.

“It is incredibly rewarding to turn a string of seemingly meaningless digits into results – a programme that works.

“You have to tackle it with people when they’re young, and make it something that’s a focus in schools. It’s rewarding and there’s a shortage, so there are opportunities there. People can make good money working in IT.”

Today, Pancredit has a turnover of around £4m a year, and 40 staff. Its client list includes HBOS and gocompare.com, and Mr Constance is proud of the fact that his business has supported hundreds of jobs over the last quarter century.

“We had a record year last year, and we’re going to beat that this year,” he said.

“We’ve got a big pipeline of work that goes on well into next year.”

To the skilled eye, a software programme really can be as beautiful as any sonnet or sonata..

Peter Constance Factfile

Title: Peter Constance

Date of birth: June 1, 1956

First job: Worked as a musician/actor with the Oxford and Cambridge Shakespeare Company.

Education: Nottingham High School, Keele University (Music and Philosophy)

Last book read: The I Ching

Favourite song: If I had to choose one track it would probably be Resolution by John Coltrane from the album A Love Supreme

Favourite holiday destination: Italy

Car driven: A 13-year-old Audi Allroad

What is he most proud of? Generating nearly £100m of revenues in the life of Pancredit and providing jobs for hundreds of people