Credit Management December 2022

INTERVIEW
AUTHOR – Sean Feast FCICM
that had foreign debtors. So, I set up a network of
overseas agents where I needed coverage. Then
Derek extended my brief and said I had to go out
and find new business, so I took off in my car
and started knocking on the doors of Debt
Collection Agencies (DCAs) in France. It worked
well. Many started using Credit Limits as their
UK agent, and some for their work worldwide.
Over time we built the business such that the
international activities became a meaningful part
of the business.”
After 13 years within the business, Pierre
decided the time had come to move on: “I hope
Derek won’t mind me saying it, but I wanted a
piece of the cake, but our ambitions couldn’t
align at the time. Derek said that the cake was still
only small!”
Approached by STA International, Pierre spent
two and a half years within the business as
Director of Collections until the loss of a major
client obliged him to move on. He joined Steris
Ltd, the European arm of a major US healthcare
business, as European Credit Manager, always
maintaining his contact with Derek to the point
that in March 2009, Derek said ‘actually,
shall we talk?’: “I was delighted.”
Pierre smiles.
They struck a deal. Pierre bought
the international activities of CLL
and Credit Limits international Ltd
(CLI) was born. As well as servicing
CLL’s existing clients, CLI built its
own portfolio, notably working larger
ledgers within the insolvency space:
“Many of the clients I had been dealing with
previously came back to us,” Pierre explains, “and
so we were able to expand the business, take on
new staff and start exhibiting at various local
events to build our profile.”
‘Selling commercial collections is not without
its challenges: “Convincing a credit manager
to employ a DCA can be difficult,” he explains,
“because they somehow see it as a failure if they
need to bring in third-party help. That’s odd when
you consider they don’t have any problems with
outsourcing work to a legal firm.”
Third-party influence
Pierre admits that part of the difficulty is that the
credit manager doesn’t see the approach of a thirdparty
to be any different from the techniques they
have already deployed themselves: “Some of our
clients can’t believe we do anything particularly
remarkable,” he says, “but the fact is we resolve
around 85 percent of the instructions we receive
amicably, and nearly all of it has been worked
before, sometimes for two years or more.”
As well as the age of the debt, location, it seems,
is also not a barrier: “One of the largest debts we
collected recently was in the book publishing
sector from a debtor in Egypt. We collected
£743k of the £1.9m owed, with the balance in
returned unsold stock.”
“With any debt, it becomes quite obvious
quite quickly what is collectable and what isn’t,”
he continues, “and we don’t tend to vary our
commission rates as others do based on the age
of the debt, for example. We have a sliding scale
for where the debtor is based, and the volume and
size of the debt, but it is all on a traditional ‘no win
no fee’ basis.”
Pierre says that some credit managers are also
concerned about their company reputation: “Some
categories of client are surprised and puzzled that
we don’t need to threaten their customers with a
baseball bat to get such good results,” he laughs.
“Clients often become too emotional about debt
and some of our success can be attributed to the
‘third-party effect’.”
Accelerated growth
In the last 10 years, the business has continued
on its positive growth trajectory, and the brand
has become well-known and well-respected in
international collections circles. It has particularly
benefited from becoming UK Shareholder
of the TCM Group, a strong international network
with a solid ethical stance. That’s not to
say there haven’t been challenges along
the way. Complying with General Data
Protection Regulation (GDPR), for example,
has sucked up huge amounts
of time and investment in compliance,
especially given the nature of
their business that takes them into
multiple jurisdictions.
The Pandemic was also a shock:
“COVID-19 meant the business took a hit,”
Pierre says, “and we had to retract, but we were
luckier than most. While we lost some business
in some areas, we also won a large new client
and so our margins grew. Our mission now is to
keep growing and we are actively looking at other
agencies to acquire.”
In April of this year, CLI became a Department
for International Trade (DIT) Export Champion,
one of a small number of British businesses
appointed by the DIT to inspire and support small
businesses ‘to seize opportunities in new markets
around the world’. As well as being recognised by
the DIT, Pierre is also an active supporter of the
Kent branch of the CICM, and was a committee
member for nine years, helping to organise events
in the UK and France to benefit local members.
So, what of the future? Pierre continues to
work hard and is proud that business growth is
accelerating once again, despite the challenges of
COVID and the ongoing recruitment challenges.
At 56, Pierre still has a considerable amount
of passion and drive for future projects in the
industry. “However, I’d like to do more cooking,”
he concludes. “I have a signature dish which is
Endives au Jambon – braised chicory with a thick
slice of ham in a sauce mornay. It is delicious.”
Maybe that pop-up market stall will
yet materialise.
Brave | Curious | Resilient / www.cicm.com / December 2022 / PAGE 33