Isn’t it always the things that first appear simple that give you a headache? When Justin Hevness, Partner at C P Walker & Son/Property Protector, and the team decided the time was right to transition from general partnership to LLP, they realised the process was far from simple – in fact, despite having traded since 1896, they had to apply as brand new companies.

That meant that Justin and the team had to complete every new form as a new brokerage. “And everything else that came with it,” adds Justin. “It was massive.”

With your typical independent broker can-do spirit, the team tried to complete this mammoth undertaking alone at first. “I think a lot of brokers are a bit proud, a bit ‘let’s sort this ourselves’,” says Justin. “We thought, we can fill in a form!”

“It was fantastic to have a sounding board at Bravo to say, are we doing this right?”

It soon became apparent that the process was not the simple task they first expected. “It was when I spoke to Simon Kerry, our BDM, about it that he suggested getting the Bravo services teams together to support us,” says Justin.

Simon pulled all the Heads of all relevant departments together at the outset to discuss what needed to be done. “We had a Teams call and Simon laid out what support was available and how Bravo could take some of the pressure away from us,” says Justin. “We were all bouncing ideas off each other, it was fantastic. People were all offering to pick different aspects up with us. After the call, the momentum just kept going.”

Simon kept track of the project with a monthly check in including all the services, which Justin says was really worthwhile. “It put some clarity on the situation,” says Justin. “It’s really complex so you start questioning yourself sometimes, but it was fantastic to have a sounding board at Bravo to say, are we doing this right?”

“We had lots of complications, but Systems and Client Money found the best route for us, together.”

Justin adds that the collaboration between Client Money and Systems Support was fantastic. “We had lots of complications due to having retail standard broking, as well as our own wholesale property scheme, and different difficulties with both,” he says. “We’re dealing with 260 plus brokers, and have our own retail arm.”

Justin says that’s when Katie Wykes in the Systems team helped to bring together the differing views between Property Protector, their ??back office systems provider, and the FCA to find a solution. “Katie is just great and has turned around documents very promptly, changed settings and advised us along the way. Katie worked with Haydon McGrath in Client Money when there was no ‘one size fits all’ approach that fit, but they found the best route.”

“The Agency team were there to hold our hand precisely when we needed it.”

What would the process have looked like for Justin without the Bravo Agency team to support? Justin shudders. “Much more stressful than it was” he says. “Sharon Geelan drove things to start off with and gave us some really good advice, keeping us on the straight and narrow. Sharon assigned Aneta Rhymes at an early stage.”

Justin explains that Aneta filled in every single form for every insurer, each one entirely different. “Aneta picked the bones from one perfect form I had filled in, and did it all,” he says. “Her attention to detail was superb, and she was brilliant at chasing insurers too. Aneta was absolutely on the ball and exactly what we needed. She works relentlessly hard, battling against all odds with all parties to get to a suitable solution, keeping me in the loop all the time. She is very friendly and a real breath of fresh air to work with. As my colleague Esther summed her up: ‘She is awesome!’”

Another star player Justin wanted to call out was Helen Carruthers. “Getting TOBAs over the line was a challenge, and Helen really had to hold our hands in some strong conversations when we needed them with insurers. Helen would come on Teams calls with us and our insurers and have those conversations with us at a very high level.”

“The Marketing team are doing some wonderful work for us, with some good people in that team.”

Justin says that Larissa Knopp and the Member Marketing team were also key to bringing the project to a successful conclusion. “Larissa and the Marketing team are doing some wonderful work for us and helped get the message out there in the correct fashion,” says Justin.

Justin explains that they needed to communicate with their clients a lot throughout the process, as well as change the branding. “There was then a joint effort between Marketing and Compliance where we had to get the wording on the trading style correct,” says Justin. “We’ve had lots of support on the Property Protector website, as well as the communication to brokers to inform them of what was changing. Marketing offered fantastic support throughout there; it’s great to see some good people in that team in Chennelle and Josh working alongside Larissa.”

“You’ve got to use these services at your fingertips, they’re good!”

So, using this recent experience as an example, can Justin explain the power of being part of a network?

“It’s support like this that really brings it home,” says Justin. “All in all, the support has been phenomenal and in various guises I have been a Premier member from very near the start. It’s at times like this that this we really see the value of our membership. There is a great infrastructure behind us!

“I think this is where members need to remember that they’ve got resources like this at their fingertips, providing a backbone to the business. It’s not all about premium and how much they’re paying for the service – that’s important to us brokers, but when I see the odd broker opt for a cheaper network, I think they might be saving on their fees initially, but it’s services like this that you’re not going to get with another network.

“You’d have to pay extra for it, or it wouldn’t be included in your membership. And you’re not getting the quality that we’ve had from all these departments. I know full well that if I’ve got to go out and pay for Marketing, it will cost me thousands of pounds. If I’ve got to pay for Compliance, that’s thousands of pounds. Client Money, the list goes on.”

“The other thing is you’ve got to use it. I think there’s a lot of members that don’t use the services and will outsource those areas because they’ve always used John down the road. Well, hang on; you’ve got to use these services at your fingertips, they’re good!”

Justin finishes by saying that this experience was a “big reminder to say yes. Bravo have got these services, they’re very good and this is just tip of the iceberg of all the services we get from Bravo.”

Bravo members, if you would like to explore how best to maximise your membership, please speak to your dedicated BDM.

If you are not a Bravo member and would like to explore how a Bravo Networks membership could help to grow, protect and support your business, please speak to Simon Bailey on 07483 929 046 or simon.bailey@bravo-group.co.uk.