Find out why Hamilton Blake Consultants LLP won the Growth Business of the Year award, sponsored by the University of East Anglia, at the Norfolk Business Awards 2022.
Hamilton Blake Consultants LLP is a leading specialist in research and development (R&D) tax credit for the architecture and engineering industries.
The chartered practice has offices in King’s Lynn and Norwich, and has three partners: Simon Wilby, Connor Jones and Darryl Hazelhurst-Jeavons. Together they lead a team of tax specialists and client managers, with more than £10 million claimed back per year.
Hamilton Blake won the Growth Business of the Year award, sponsored by the University of East Anglia, at the Norfolk Business Awards 2022.
“To win the award was unbelievable – and it's a testament to how hard the team worked,” says Connor. “It was really nice to celebrate with the team, whose work was recognised by a board of the best businesses in Norfolk.”
Today the business partners with more than 400 clients, including dozens of companies featured in the Architects’ Journal AJ100.
“Our role is to help high-tech businesses claim money back from HMRC through the innovation and creativity that they have within their company,” says Simon. “They’re undertaking projects that will qualify for R&D. We take that information and package it for HMRC to create tax refunds.
“We aim to build partnerships with our clients which help to grow and maximise their entitlement, while ensuring risks are mitigated throughout.”
Simon says Hamilton Blake is “punching above its weight” for a Norfolk business, although most of the firms that Hamilton Blake works with are in cities like London, Manchester, Bristol, Edinburgh and Brimingham.
“We are also lucky enough to work with an airline, which is pretty cool.”
Simon and Connor attribute their meteoric growth to choosing a specialism and excelling in it.
“My dad is an engineer,” says Simon. “And I've always been interested in architecture, so we forged that little niche for ourselves. We understand the verticals that we know we can help in – there’s problems we can solve.”
Hamilton Blake grew from 60 clients to 400 in three years.
“When you go from £150,000 turnover to £3 million in three years, when you go from three people to 28 in three years, you know you’ve done something right.”
Connor has some advice for fledgling businesses looking to grow.
“Do something excellent with passion better than anyone else in the market,” he says. “And be really laser-focused with your message to a specific vertical. Don’t try to be all things to all people.
“We’re not trying to pick up absolutely everything we possibly can. A pharmaceutical company might call us up, but we would say no because it’s not our market.”
At Hamilton Blake, the team believes in the office environment.
“We’re a young team and being around each other is really positive, so we’re not keen on working from home,” Simon says. “We offer flexibility, but those water cooler moments offer the opportunity to learn by osmosis and gel the team together.”
“You don’t have to buy in talent or acquire other businesses,” says Connor. “You can develop people and work with them to create something special. Anyone looking for a job can reach out to us.”
“We have an overwhelming sense of pride in our team,” Simon adds. “Although we’re very lucky to sit at the top, it's the 26 other people in the business that really make it.
“Sometimes this company feels like a runaway train, sometimes it’s like a rocket ship, but with our incredible team, all we have to do is point it in the right direction.”
For more information, please visit hb-consulting.co.uk
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