Debt recovery company celebrates 40th anniversary and strong performance

Published by

Nicky Godding

A successful commercial debt recovery business has celebrated its 40^th anniversary.

Controlaccount Plc, based in Bromsgrove, has also reported strong third quarter figures in 2020 which it says are likely to exceed targets, after turnover doubled in 2019 to more than £3.5 million.

The company, which acquired Cirrus Technologies last year, has evolved from a simple debt recovery firm into a fully integrated outsourcing business, delivering more than fifty white labelled services to some of the biggest UK and global names. Over the past five years, the firm has repositioned itself to respond to shifts in the debt recovery landscape.

Controlaccount was founded in 1980 by Chairman, Graham Ball, to support clients with debt collection services and operate with integrity, decency and understanding. The proposition was attractive to many clients who needed to collect overdue invoices but did not want to be associated with the murky world of debt recovery (as it was seen in the early ‘80s).

Initially working predominantly with clients in the medical sector (at one stage in its history, Controlaccount worked for most of the UK’s private hospitals, and healthcare continues to be a key sector for the company). Other early clients came from growing sectors such as mobile phone companies and international debt recovery organisations (secured through professional relationships with commercial attachés in London embassies).

Controlaccount now undertakes the recovery of more than 30,000 delinquent invoices every month and collects some £40 million each year. Key clients now include leading universities and colleges, a number of medical establishments and brand names from across the transport and logistics sector.

As the impact of Covid-19 rips through the global economy, David Harvey, Controlaccount’s Managing Director, believes that offering a diverse range of services to support clients is the route to continued success.

“Sadly, many businesses will not survive the pandemic. So, whilst forbearance and understanding play a part, companies must focus on having a robust collection process in place. Now is also the time when businesses need to review their model to streamline operations, increase productivity and continue to implement new ideas. Our outsourced services; whether delivered ad-hoc or on a longer-term basis, provide organisations with the ability to deal with the unexpected.”

In July, ahead of the reopening of bars and restaurants, Controlaccount’s business intelligence and data portal, identeco Business Support Toolkit, aimed primarily at the SME market, successfully launched an online customer logging portal, identecoTrack, to help pub, bar and restaurant staff fulfil Covid-19 NHS Test and Trace obligations.

Nicky Godding

Nicky Godding is editor of The Business Magazine. Before her journalism career, she worked mainly in public relations moving into writing when she was invited to launch Retail Watch, a publication covering retail and real estate across Europe. After some years of constant travelling, she tucked away her passport and concentrated on business writing, co-founding a successful regional business magazine. She has interviewed some of the UK’s most successful entrepreneurs who have built multi-million-pound businesses and reported on many science and technology firsts. She reports on the region’s thriving business economy from start-ups, family businesses and multi-million-pound corporations, to the professionals that support their growth and the institutions that educate the next generation of business leaders.