UK attitudes make it tough for businesses to succeed

UK companies are succeeding against the odds, Ian Kilpatrick, MD at Wick Hill, told Network News last week.

Wick Hill came 12th in this year's Independent listing of the top 100 UK companies, with European Telecom and Anglia Telecom Centres coming first and second respectively. The latter two both reported an annual sales growth of more than 100 per cent.

According to Kilpatrick, it is harder to do business in the UK than anywhere else in the world.

"Business culture in the UK and the US differs enormously. When you want to borrow money in the US, it's your potential future that is considered.

In the UK, though, your worth is judged by your past."

He continued: "We were lucky when we started out (in 1976) because we found a bank manager of the old school, who gave us an overdraft double our net revenue, and financed us on his gut feeling.

"But in the 1980s that all changed, when banks became tighter and more controlled."

UK-based Wick Hill, a communications and connectivity reseller, reported an annual sales growth of 74 per cent. In the 1995/6 financial year, Wick Hill's sales totalled #21.2m, which Kilpatrick attributed to the company's focus on customer care.

"It sounds cliched, but the customer comes first. We never sell a product that we think is bad, and we only do business with companies that offer good, reliable products."

Kilpatrick added that his fierce competitive streak added to the company's success. "I'm very competitive - I only drive sports cars."