Success is all Thanks to the TEAM work
THERE were certain topics – geopolitical uncertainty, the state of the Chinese economy and investors’ appetite for risk, for example – which I expected to come up during a conversation with Mark Clubb.
What I didn’t expect was a foray into the world of physics and yet, as the executive chairman of TEAM Plc reflected on his approach to business, that was exactly the turn which the conversation took.
“For me, it is all about escape velocity,” he announced. “The greatest analogy is that the gravitational pull of the Earth means that it takes an enormous momentum of energy to get a spaceship into space. However, once that ship is in space, it takes zero energy to propel it. You just need little booster rockets to direct its course.
“Businesses are very similar to that. Once you break through the atmospheric barrier of costs, gaining brand recognition and establishing your place in the market, then the spaceship glides along with very little energy and it becomes all about navigation.”
But while TEAM has broken a number of barriers since Mr Clubb acquired the business in 2018, he admits that it is not yet at the magical “gliding” phase.
“We are still in that period which requires a lot of energy and momentum,” he acknowledged, “but, with each new hire and each new client acquisition, we gain a bit more energy and move that little bit closer to breaking through that gravitational pull.”
Having been founded just over 20 years ago, TEAM – which stands for Theta Enhanced Asset Management – was a relatively small-scale local business when Mr Clubb and seven other shareholders took over the helm in a move which he admits was driven largely by a need to fulfil his “entrepreneurial streak”, something which began at a very young age.
“I was 12 when I started my own business, fixing punctures on bicycle tyres,” he said with a smile.
And while his career has taken him many miles away from the world of bicycle repairs, he has never lost that entrepreneurial drive.
“When it’s in your blood, it’s very difficult either to retire or to work for someone else,” he admitted.
Indeed, having worked for a range of businesses and been a founding partner of Altium Capital, a multi-jurisdictional investment banking business with offices in 14 cities around the world, it was as a stockbroker with Canaccord that the former Victoria College student returned to Jersey in 2009.
“After nine years with Canaccord, the entrepreneurial itch became too strong to resist and, when the opportunity to acquire TEAM arose, I was encouraged by a combination of clients and people who’d known me for a long time to go and do something different,” he reflected. “I felt that the market was big enough and diverse enough to be able to do something that other people were not doing and, with TEAM, we were blessed in taking on a company with a good reputation and all the necessary licences but without any of the legacy systems or issues that could have hampered us.
“By starting with a clean slate, we were able to put in place a strong set of contemporary foundations, outsourcing or digitising as many back- and middle-office functions as possible, so that we could concentrate on building relationships with clients and giving them that all-important added value.”
And those foundations, says Mr Clubb, have played a key role in the company’s growth both locally and internationally.
“As we have become bigger, that approach has allowed us to increase our services, strengthen our buying power and, ultimately, put the business in a position where we were able to list on the London Stock Exchange AIM market, something which gives us tremendous resonance as we expand overseas,” he added.
While the Jersey-based arm of the business focuses on financial planning services for Islanders – a division strengthened by the recent acquisitions of Concentric and HBFS – the international strand, supported by TEAM’s network of offices, advisers and regulatory approvals and licences, offers a similar holistic service, encompassing areas such as pensions, life cover and mortgage advice for expats.
“We currently have hubs in Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Durban and Nairobi as well as Jersey,” said Mr Clubb, “and there is no doubt that our listing on the London Stock Exchange has supported this expansion.
“Not only does the listing mean that all our financial information, processes and procedures are publicly available, but it also gives tremendous security to clients, who know that we have very strong governance in place.”
But while the business has grown significantly over the past five years, Mr Clubb’s ambitions for growth remain undimmed.
“My ultimate aim is for us to be in a great deal many more places, including Europe and particularly southern Europe, where a number of people go when they retire,” he said. “We have a strong TEAM East now with our offices in the Middle East, Asia and Africa but why not branch out further and establish TEAM West, with a presence in jurisdictions such as the Cayman Islands and Bermuda?”
And while he is not putting a timeframe on any such plans, it is clear that Mr Clubb is not someone to sit back and take things easy.
“While the strategy is very much one of growth, the one part of a business plan which always go askew is the timing,” he said. “Running a business is like daily life. Good and bad things happen and you have to adapt but TEAM will grow where it can, as it has done ever since we bought the business in 2018.
“Not only would I like to open offices in more jurisdictions but I would also love to employ more people in the Island.
“In 2018, TEAM employed 11 people in Jersey. Now, we have around 40 and if there is scope to double that number, that would be great.”
But growth, he points out, cannot come at any cost.
“You have to concentrate on preserving and growing the culture that you are seeking,” he stressed. “You are only as good as your lowest qualified person and we are constantly raising the bar.
“Accordingly, we invest significantly in training and supporting people to gain their qualifications and further their careers. That applies across the group. That recruitment, training and investment in infrastructure is fundamental in each of our territories.
“When it comes to expanding the team, we have plenty of chairs for the right people. This reflects our approach, across all areas of the business, of being flexible and nimble to achieve success. It is not about squeezing the lemon until the pips come out. For a business to be successful, its people need to get something out of it as well.
“When you recruit someone, they have to think that, in joining the business, they have won and that, whatever they are getting from that company, they wouldn’t get elsewhere. And that, perhaps, is the most satisfying thing about the past two or three years.
“We now have a platform where that happens and where we can nurture that culture, whether we’re talking about the youngest new recruit in Jersey or the new head of Singapore who we have just hired.
“That diversity, among our people, geography, services and depth and breadth of clients, is what has enabled TEAM to navigate the headwinds and economic challenges of the past few years and, while there will always be headwinds, we will continue looking ahead and growing as the opportunities arise.”
By Emily Moore
(Cover Image Source: NEOM)