Tag Archives: finance

TLA’s Sam Reaney up for FD of the Year Award

We are thrilled to say that our very own Sam Reaney is in the running for a top accolade this evening at the Finance Director of the Year Awards.

Sam, who joined the business in 2015, has been included on a three-person shortlist for FD Under 40 Years of Age – Business up to £25 million Turnover. His fellow nominees are Rick Poskitt of Thrive Media Group and Chris Bird of Adlib Audio.

The awards recognise and celebrate the outstanding work done by the region’s financial directors, rewarding the underestimated job they do within their organisations.

Sam has been a key figure during TLA’s growth over the last few years, which has seen the business appear in the FT 1000, a list of the thousand fastest-growing companies in Europe, the Sunday Times’ Tech Track 100 and the Deloitte Technology Fast 50.

The event is being held at the Crowne Plaza in Liverpool City Centre and hosted by BBC Radio 5 Live’s Hugh Ferris. This year’s sponsors are Accountable Recruitment, Grant Thornton, Hill Dickinson and HSBC.

Good luck to Sam and the other nominees!

Five minutes with… TLA Strategy Director of Property and Financial Services Paul Earnden

Next up in our Q&A series we have Paul Earnden, who joined team TLA four months ago as Strategy Director of Property and Financial Services.

Following on from his recent move at Prodo, a digital transformation and growth agency based in Chester, we talk to Paul about his role here at TLA below.

What have been your first impressions of TLA and its culture?

I was pleasantly surprised with the approach to technology and data. Our platform is an incredible piece of technology which is going to help us achieve great things in connecting in-market consumers to brands. Like any tech-based organisation, things have to be fast paced. But this is fast paced with real purpose, structure and driven by data. So much progress is made on a daily basis.

Finally, I’ve been really impressed with the entire approach to onboarding, our culture code and the effort made to ensure that everybody in the business lives and breathes “The TLA Way” and genuinely, I feel they all do!

You took part in our London to Brighton cycle in aid of NABS. What was the experience like?

The cycle was great…but very difficult! It was a great opportunity to meet so many companies, agencies and tech providers in a completely different environment: no big offices, no shirts and ties – just helmets and lycra..! I learnt a lot about NABS, our charity of choice, and now look forward to being part of further fundraising activity for them.

What is your role and the role of your department at TLA?

The role of my department is to grow TLA’s Property and Financial Services vertical into a major arm of our business. I’m working directly with mortgage brokers, lenders, estate agents and other financial services organisations to deliver incremental revenue with our technology. The role is a real mix of product development, customer acquisition and operations, it’s great fun!

What can you tell us about Movewell?

Movewell is a new consumer website we’ve developed that is designed to guide homeowners, or soon-to-be homeowners, through the tricky process of buying a home, moving home, remortgaging or selling their home. In its current form, it’s contains useful content, guides, checklists and calculators which assist consumers through the process. These consumers can then opt to utilise our broker matching service and, based on their circumstances, we will place them with a broker who will hold their hand through the application process.

How has the property industry evolved over the last 12 months?

The last 12 months have been interesting. I’ve been involved in the housing and property space for around six years now and, in that time, most change has been driven by technology and digital transformation.

Such steep advances in technology have allowed for some fantastic products and services to be created, but at the same time some businesses have gone all-in on this technology before it’s really matured. There’s a big wish in organisations to be using things like blockchain, machine learning, artificial intelligence, augmented reality and more – but sometimes without purpose or a real use-case.

Due to the access to technology, we’re seeing proptech startups get large amounts of VC backing and one major development has been a sharp increase in the amount of online estate agents, which has been an incredibly turbulent sector with major ups and downs over the last 12 months. I fundamentally believe that online estate agents have a place in the market, but it will take a while to get consumer buy-in and for people to drop their guards around selling a property online. The younger demographics will likely opt for this type of service, but they’re not necessarily the ones buying or selling houses right now.

What do you anticipate the next 12 months will look like for the industry?

I guess the biggest changes in the industry are probably going to be as a result of what happens within the political environment, and I don’t think anybody really knows what’s going to happen or how this could change the industry. Staying with the theme of digital transformation and technology, I think we’re going to see further utilisation of technology in order to build some great products. I’m a big fan of fintech, and the use of technology within the financial services industry. The mortgage industry has seen some great products from the likes of Mojo, Habito and Trussle, offering an almost end-to-end digital experience, allowing people to apply for a mortgage from their phone.

In the last year, I feel we’ve seen the beginning of the traditional, large organisations who’ve been challenged by the so-called challenger brands react. This will likely result in banks, lenders, brokers, and estate agents etc. building innovative tech products to challenge the challengers. The digital experience from some more traditional banks has started to slowly rival the likes of Monzo, Starting and Revolut and I think we’ll see a similar trend in estate agency and mortgaging.

Finally, I’d like to think that the creation and adoption of open banking will enable mortgage lenders and brokers to shorten the application to completion timeframe and, as a whole, increase the customer experience within the sector.

What role can Movewell play in helping the industry?

Movewell exists to give unbiased guidance to those in the middle of quite a complex buyer journey. These consumers are looking for the best product for their needs, and we can match those needs to a brand (such as a broker, lender, or estate agent) who are looking to deliver further, incremental revenue.

If you’ve got a question for the TLA team or want to know more about what makes us tick, why not get in touch?

Life at The Lead Agency: Meet Finance Assistant Joanna Walmsley

Finance assistant Joanna Walmsley joined The Lead Agency straight from sixth form three years ago and is on her way to becoming AAT qualified. Here, she tells us about her time at TLA so far.

What were your first impressions of The Lead Agency?

Really positive! When I started here everyone was so lovely and welcoming. The team made it really easy for me to fit in, despite how shy I was to begin with.

What lead you to this role?

I’d worked in a shop for a little while once I had finished school and was ready to move on, but I knew that University wasn’t the right option for me.

So, I decided to look into apprenticeships. I started at TLA doing a general apprenticeship in financing that required an industry work placement. Three years later, the company has given me the opportunity to sit my AAT exams and develop a career in finance. I will finish my current qualification in September, after which I hope to complete the final year to become AAT qualified (Association of Accounting Technicians).

What three words would you use to describe your role?

Challenging but interesting! It can be stressful at times, but I genuinely enjoy it.

What sort of responsibilities does your job involve?

I look after the cash-flows, invoicing, and many other day-to-day tasks. My role also includes other responsibilities such as looking after the payroll – basically keeping everyone happy by making sure they’re all paid on time!

How have you found balancing studying with your full-time position?

It’s hard at times when I have an exam coming up as I put a lot of pressure on myself to balance work and studying.

When I have an exam coming up, our financial controller Sam Reaney ensures that my day-to-day tasks include areas that I will be tested on in the exam. That’s really helpful as I can learn in the role and understand it before I even begin my online classroom time!

What would you say to others that are thinking about doing an apprenticeship like this one? Do you have any advice?

If it’s what you really want to do, go for it! It takes dedication, but it’s worth it.

Have you been able to take on more responsibilities and progress within the business? If so, what?

Yes, definitely. I’ve progressed a lot whilst working here. At school I was good at maths and thought I would do well working in finance, but when I started working here I knew literally nothing about finance or accounting.

Step-by-step, I’m handling more responsibilities and that means I’m always facing new challenges. I’ve learnt everything I know about finance by working here alongside Sam, and I’m really grateful for that. TLA invested in me as an 18-year-old and gave me a great opportunity. Since then, I have grown so much, both as a person and in the workplace.

What’s the culture like at TLA and within the team?

I love it! Everyone is welcoming, sociable, friendly and supportive too. It’s a lovely place to work.

I like how chilled out it can be, we all make sure that we get our work done but we laugh along the way and make sure to enjoy ourselves.

 

We’re hiring! To find out more about our career opportunities, visit our careers page.

TLA secures FCA authorisation

We believe doing right by our clients and consumers, which is why we took the decision to pursue and have since achieved our FCA authorisation.

Traditionally as a business, we have focused our conversations with customers on the product. For example, in automotive, we talk about their vehicle of interest. But increasingly often, a customer’s starting point is what they can afford, and how they are going to purchase.

Although our role is often that of lead generator on these campaigns, being FCA (Financial Conduct Authority) authorised gives us more flexibility on what we can speak to customers about, and allows us to gather more relevant information. Gathering more information in turn allows us to better qualify the customer, and ultimately means we create higher quality opportunities for our clients find their next customers.

In addition, we can broaden the types of campaigns we can take on. The QA framework we have in place means that we are set up well to ensure compliance with the regulatory framework of the FCA.

Highly professional

To assist us with the process of seeking FCA authorisation, we engaged Peak Consultants, a specialist in helping companies seek FCA authorisation.

“It was a pleasure working with The Lead Agency during the application process,” commented Peak director Mark Tumblety. “Their approach was highly professional and the senior management team demonstrated an eagerness to get things right and clearly wanted to enhance their customer proposition.”

Many companies see the process and ongoing regulation of FCA status as a ‘tick-box’ exercise, but we are working to embed principles such as Treating Customers Fairly into the very fabric of our business.