Wolverhampton-based Relationship Manager Richard Dowen has been solving Natwest customers’ problems for 13 years. “My job is being the face of the bank for these businesses,” he says.
He’s constantly meeting clients to hear about their business challenges, or, as he puts it, “what keeps them awake at night.” This makes him an expert on the hurdles facing SMEs and mid-market companies, particularly those in the manufacturing sector, which makes up much of the industry in the West Midlands.
Understanding such challenges and being able to offer solutions requires Dowen and his NatWest colleagues to stay on top of trends in the manufacturing industry. He does this via regular conversations with his portfolio of around 50 clients – listening to managing directors and touring shop floors to understand how their businesses work, as well as participating in NatWest internal training programmes with insight from industry organisations such as the Engineering Employers Federation and more.
“I go to seminars and read manufacturing industry publications to keep up to date with what’s going on, so I can add value to discussions with clients and relate to what they’re talking about,” says Dowen. “I never call myself a manufacturing expert – I’m a banker and it’s the only job I’ve ever done – but I’m very keen for knowledge.”
One current complaint among business owners is a lack of trained staff, says Dowen, leading him and his colleagues to build connections with local universities and educational institutions in order to set up apprenticeship schemes. “We’re more than a bank, we’re that business partner that they can come to in order to get help,” he says.
One client, Petford Group, was winning plenty of work for its design for an injection moulding tool for the automotive industry. But such contracts can have high upfront costs and take years to turn a profit, leaving companies struggling to take on other work due to lack of cashflow. NatWest’s new tooling fund – which treats such contracts as an asset that can be borrowed against – has solved that problem with a credit-line style loan.
“On the day the customer pays us, we pay that loan back to the bank,” says Melvin Sinar, Managing Director at Petford. “It’s a funding route that’s allowed us to take on more work, give us the flexibility to grow the business, and not have to use our own money to fund automotive projects.”
Not all the concerns keeping Dowen’s clients awake are specific to their industry, or so easily solved – many are worried about the wider challenges for business, such as Brexit.
There was a clear slow down after the 23 June referendum, according to Dowen. “We saw a quiet market for six months, but this year became more buoyant, as transactions put on hold last year got done this year.”
Companies can’t wait until there is more certainty around Brexit and carrying on as usual can be difficult, thanks to exchange rates, which have a particular impact on manufacturers – such as Dowen’s clients in Wolverhampton who rely on imported materials. “They’ve seen input prices go up by about 30%,” Dowen says, and it’s not that easy to just put your prices up by 20% or 30%. “They’ve had to absorb a lot of costs this year.”
Brexit’s effect on exchange rates comes alongside other unrelated rising costs, notably the National Living Wage and Apprenticeship Levies.
“There have been a lot of different costs businesses have had to absorb this year,” says Dowen. “It’s testament to our customers and their resilience that they’ve had some big challenges to contend with this year, and the biggest one is still yet to be resolved,” he says.
So, what can British businesses do faced with such challenges? Dowen advises expanding markets via exports, pointing to the government’s Exporting is Great campaign, and suggests looking for new ways to be lean and efficient. That need not involve automation per se, he says, advising companies to simply find ways to make it easier for clients to do business with them, perhaps revamping procurement portals or reviewing processes on the shop floor. “It doesn’t have to be a huge cost,” he says.
NatWest Relationship Managers work to understand your business. That’s why they’ve been voted number 1* for overall customer satisfaction. As well as rigorous training and accreditation by the Chartered Banker Institute, they’re given the autonomy to act quickly and decisively. Whether they’re anticipating key issues, identifying opportunities or offering personal expertise, they have the skills to build a strong partnership with you and your business. Click here to find out more
*Charterhouse Research Business Banking Survey, YE Q1 17 data weighted by region and turnover. No 1 position based on ‘excellent’ ratings (excluding ‘don’t know’) for Relationship Management service, as rated by NatWest’s customers with annual turnover of £2m-£25m in England & Wales, compared with ratings of competitor banks by their customers. Total respondents 1957, NatWest 489.
