Where there’s muck, there’s brass. Waste disposal firm Skip Hire UK has been raking it in.
The Bucks-based company pulled in a £600,000 turnover in its first year. Now, a mere three years later, it’s hit the £7m mark.
Such explosive growth brings challenges. Co-managing director James Capel has the low-down on managing the bubble. “Cash flow is an obvious problem,” he says. “We use confidential invoice discounting.
"It’s cheaper than standard factoring and your customer pays you rather than the factoring company. This way, you stay in charge of the transaction.”
There’s another advantage to keeping your customer in the dark: “There’s less kudos lost,” says Capel. The client pays you instead of the invoice discounting company, so your short-term cash flow solutions remain private.
Recruitment can be an additional headache. If you’re trying to find good people in a hurry, the trick is to try before you buy. “We always take on staff on a temporary basis to start with,” says Capel. “It can be expensive, but it’s worth it in the long run. There’s less chance of getting your fingers burned.”
Capel and his partner Chris Mole put their growth gems to the test with the launch of their second venture in 2006, Simply Waste Solutions, an industrial waste disposal company employing a fleet of 12 lorries.
The pair are really on to something: Simply Waste Solutions saw revenues of £2.3m in its first year.