Combining accountancy and legal services under one roof gives Optimum’s clients the advantage of a seamless service, with easy access to different areas of expertise.
This concept is taken one step further at serviced office and event space The Site, where the businesses are collaborating to provide a portfolio of services that fall within the construction sector.
The Site opened in Cheltenham in 2021 and was developed from three existing buildings to create a modern, professional, commercial centre, with a mix of serviced and leased offices, some retail space, event space, and a coffee shop.
The concept from the start was to invite in businesses within the construction sector, which could not only refer to one another but could collaborate on projects.
The masterminds behind The Site are Snowy Heaton, Dan Heaton, Jamie Barnfield and his brother Charley Barnfield. They form the management team covering business development, investment and finance alongside running some of the other businesses based at The Site.
“We wanted to bring together like-minded businesses and ones with a synergy, such as architects and planning consultants,” Charley said. “We were building a portfolio of people who could collaborate on projects.”
Companies based at The Site, including AMPM Construction and Métier Homes, are involved in construction, development, and investment projects – everything from securing a patch of land to gaining planning permission, building and selling on. The directors can call on the expertise of their neighbours in The Site whenever they need support, and vice versa.
Charley said: “We get sent five opportunities a week, on average. We can do a quick sense check here with the planners and architects, to quickly understand if it’s a goer. “
So, how does Optimum fit into this? As Jamie said, “The accountancy and legal side are heavily integrated into property and construction, they are a natural extension of these services.”
When we first began working with AMPM, we were helping their bookkeeper to use their cloud accounting software. Soon, the services being provided expanded. Our tax team began giving support and our legal team began to provide property-related advice.
Now, our directors Rob Stokes (Accountancy) and Iain Mason (Head of Legal) are regularly at The Site and are on hand to help.
Funding is one area we advised on, for a recent Twigworth Development win. Charley said: “It was a challenge as a small business to get funding, so we had to think outside the box and approach different lenders. The amount of work that Iain and I had to do with our lender, because of the level of scrutiny, was extensive, but we achieved what we needed, and I was extremely grateful for that.”
Rob helped with advice on the tax implications. Rob said: “There are always tax implications, but this shouldn’t kill a good deal; it’s all about mitigating the impact. Where we have projects with multiple partners, we work out how to structure it, so each gets the minimum tax impact possible.
“Business owners usually have a good steer on their business, but we are here as a sounding board and to help finesse plans, and to guide in the right direction.”
Iain added: “With property, nothing is in isolation. We can help people answer questions they don’t even know they should ask. We can look at the situation and assess whether we need a light touch or a bit more input from the legal side.”
Below director level, our team also support The Site and AMPM, among others. Our payroll manager, Liz Grange, has advised on making the timesheet and payroll process more efficient. Larissa Hall helps with bookkeeping for many of the businesses based at The Site.
Charley said: “Optimum are helping on a more micro level and bringing more discipline into what we do. What they are doing is changing our awareness of the business’s performance.”
Jamie added: “If you operate at director level you need to be able to take a glance at the overall position and understand where you are. This is where the smaller tasks all feed into the bigger picture. We haven’t got to pore through data.”
Optimum are now an intrinsic part of the team, and being neighbours at The Site facilitates this.
Charley said: “With someone more arm’s length to us, you wouldn’t get the hard questions. But this is what we get from Optimum because they are more involved in our business. It is helpful to be embedded.”
If you would like to take advantage of our combined legal and accountancy services, or to find out more, please get in touch with the team at Optimum.
For more about The Site and its office and event space, visit https://www.thesitecheltenham.co.uk/.
Episode 10 of “Optimum: LIVE!” was broadcast at 1:00 pm on Wednesday 7th August from our Cheltenham offices. In this episode we welcome our special guests from The Site; our landlords at this site, and our long-term client.
