About Marches Group

BROADFIX®, the trading name of Marches Group, is based in Hereford, where their plastic shims have been manufactured for over 10 years. The concept of shimming has been practised for hundreds of years, but they were made onsite from scraps and offcuts of wood. Against this backdrop, the BROADFIX® shim was born – a flat plastic shim giving high compressive strength, available in a variety of colour-coded thicknesses. BROADFIX® has since broadened its range to include several other products, in line with their core value of creating time-and-money saving items.

How we helped?

Ducketts started working with Marches Group in May 2011 when the company was trading as a partnership. Our main concern, beyond rationalising their accounts function, was to support Marches through a growth period ensuring their cashflow and trading framework became more robust. Once these key basic elements were arranged and embedded, we continued supporting and guiding Marches in their growth journey. Here are a few examples of processes and business best practice which we introduced and supported:

•  Systemising the sales processes to get certainty of income and key performance indicators to gain control
•  Overseeing the build of the Group’s new premises, including cashflow planning
•  Supporting the development of new European and American markets
•  Helping the development and launch of key new products

Through our work with the management team in Marches, the Group has experienced exceptional growth both in terms of turnover (200%) and profit (400%). We were also very pleased to see the development of the senior management team which is now better equipped to respond positively to an ever-changing business environment.

What does the client say?

We caught up with Clive Haughton, Marches’ Managing Director, to get his take on working with Ducketts:

What involvement did you get from your previous accountant?

Our experience with our previous accountancy firm was not positive. We found them to be non-responsive and providing the bare minimum in terms of support. Needless to say, they did not provide us with management accounts which meant that all the finance data we had was out of date and useless. This meant that it was hard for us to keep track of the current financial situation.

What made you approach Ducketts?

A friend introduced us. They were using Ducketts and recommended we did the same. We developed a good rapport with the team very quickly and got on with following their advice.

What were your main concerns?

We had no concerns, as Ducketts came with a good recommendation. When we first met the team at Ducketts, we realised that they displayed strong values and we felt we could trust them immediately.

How did you find the process of working with Ducketts?

The key thing for me is the fact that the team took the time to teach me how to grow my business. This included demonstrating the foundations of how to read and understand your accounts, compile spreadsheets, create forecasts and more. I am not aware of other accountancy practices of the same size who provide as much value as Ducketts do.

Having said that, it’s very important that you have the right attitude, as if you are not ready to listen they cannot help you. Ducketts joined our management team as trusted partners; they got right behind our vision and have been very patient and open. For example, they helped us build our new premises though they questioned the need for such a large spend. We felt it was key to our future plans, so they got behind the project and saw it through.

Would you recommend Ducketts to others in your industry?

I would recommend Ducketts to any business owner but particularly to those who are forward thinking and open to listen; people who want to get ahead and are interested in developing their business.

To us Ducketts are far more than our accountants, they are trusted advisors. If they work with your business they take it personally and became an integral part of it.