IN this week’s SME Focus we hear from one of the firms that is capitalising on the boom in the market for apartments in Scotland.

Name:

Brian Welsh.

Age:

45.

What is your business called?

CPL Software Ltd.

Where is it based?

Glasgow. We also have a team of developers based in Farnborough.

What does it produce?

Software packages and solutions for property management companies, specifically property factors, in Scotland. Our clients manage the common areas of residential properties. We also create client portals and apps so that clients who live in managed properties can interact with their property factor electronically and view their accounts and documents.

We are developing a new contractor portal and app and plan to launch it in Q3 of this year. This will enable contractors working with our clients to communicate electronically with each other. We believe it will deliver cost savings for our customers and will also provide their clients with faster responses and a real time view of the progress on any work happening at their developments.

Whom does it sell to?

Any company that manages common areas within residential developments, and we have been particularly successful selling into the private property and factor market. We are making inroads into the housing association market, which will be a focus for us in the coming year.

What is its turnover?

We have been growing year on year. In the twelve months to March 2016 we will turnover about £700,000. We expect to grow in the coming year.

How many employees?

Ten. We are looking to increase this number in the next 12 months having moved into larger office space. The wider CPL family, which includes CPL IT Services and the newly launched CPL Digital, employs around 30 people.

When was it formed?

2010.

Why did you take the plunge?

I had been in the property software industry since 1997 and had gained a huge amount of knowledge. The legal software business I was working for at the time did not consider its property software arm as a priority but I could see its potential.

That business had been bought and sold a number of times in the period I worked there and it was no longer where I wanted to be. It had changed a lot, starting as a small business in Bridge of Allan and eventually becoming part of a large corporation.

I was lucky enough to convince the company to take a management buy out for the property software side of the business. It worked out well for both parties and we split on amicable terms.

What were you doing before you took the plunge?

Managing a number of companies for a very large legal software firm. At the time it was part of the fifth largest company of its kind in the UK.

How did you raise the start-up funding?

I acquired the company through a management buy out. The details are confidential but I was fortunate enough to be able to self-fund it. I have never sought any external backers for the business and CPL Software remains debt free and solely my business.

What was your biggest break?

Securing the management buyout. It took about six months of hard work to reach an agreement but since then I have not looked back.

What was your worst moment?

For the first couple of years the worst moment was the 25th of each month when the salaries had to be paid. As the MBO was self-funded I didn’t have a huge amount of cash lying around and took very little out of the company at that time. When I started I always had the goal to make sure I had enough money in the bank to be able to pay the staff for six months. This would allow me to sleep at night, knowing I could react quickly should we have any issues. We made that milestone after about 18 months.

What do you most enjoy about running the business?

I love the challenge of thinking up, developing and launching new products. I believe we have helped to modernise and drive progress in Scotland’s factoring sector and long may this continue.

What do you least enjoy?

Delegation. I don’t enjoy letting go of things and sometimes have to be forced to do so. This probably drives the staff mad as they are a great team, highly experienced and they understand the challenges in the industry as well as I do.

What are your ambitions for the firm?

There are just over 500,000 factored units in Scotland, and this number is growing all the time. Private factoring firms manage more than half of these factored units and the majority of them already use our products and software. The remaining properties have their common areas managed by local authorities or registered social landlords. This is where I want to take our products next. We have already made some sales to this market. I’d like CPL to become the provider of choice to this sector.

What are your top priorities?

In no particular order: To continue with our staff development programme, as our team is CPL Software’s most valuable asset.; to make sure that our new app and portal are finished and delivered on time and ready to launch in the first half of the year; to continue to develop and deliver successful products for the markets we choose to focus on; to make sure the business remains financially stable as we develop our presence in the housing association markets.

What could the Westminster and/or Scottish governments do that would help?

I would like to see more support for small businesses in terms of skills. At the moment, every small Scottish company with a digital bias will encounter problems with the scarcity of skilled people. If you can find a good developer in Scotland they will be expensive and are liable to be poached. We need long term Government led initiatives in this area.

What was the most valuable lesson that you learned?

To listen to your customer. What you think they want and what they actually require can sometimes be vastly different.

How do you relax?

I seldom switch off entirely but I do try and get out on the golf course as often as I can. I also like travelling, holidays and enjoy a good gin and tonic at the end of the day.