Peter Evans
Being able to operate a small, specialist IT business cost-effectively in the shadow of a major city’s university, and still be only a couple of hours from London, has been the key to success for Peter Evans.
The company, which employs less than 30 people to design, build and support software for financial services companies, has operated highly successfully from Cardiff for almost 25 years.
According to managing director Dr Mike Foley, that’s primarily because the city produces a good flow of bright young graduates who, having discovered the delights of Cardiff in their student days, are more than happy to settle down for the long term.
“We have a great workforce here, very stable,” he says. “We mainly look out for bright graduates, and have found that the attrition rate is very low.
“That’s so important when you are trying to develop relationships with customers over the long term.”
peterevans offers a boutique approach to providing front to back office solutions for the financial services, securities and investment sector, with an emphasis on personal service, and a specialisation in the development of software for the online processing of securities trading and custody.
The company’s suite of sophisticated software packages covers wealth management, custody, real-time clearing and settlement, private client and on-line stock broking and full operational and administrative support for front, middle and back office operations.
Peter Evans sells to existing stockbrokers looking to put in place an online trading facility, and via outsourcers who incorporate the package into their service offering to stockbrokers.
According to Dr Foley, it’s the combination of available graduates and being able to operate cost-effectively from Cardiff which has allowed the company to deliver so effectively over the years.
“Really the core expertise of the business is here in Cardiff - and we invest very heavily in it,” he said.
“You would not want to run this kind of operation in London! But with Cardiff operating costs, we can do it here. It’s meant we’ve been able to invest in our offices, for example, creating a modern and attractive working environment, and that in turn helps us retain staff.
“And of course, being only two hours from London means we can give that all-important personal service. We have people here who are building skills all the time - we send them to see clients and help build relationships, which we couldn’t do if we operated in another country, or elsewhere in the UK.”
Whilst the company’s customer base is still very much in the UK, with the support of WAG, peterevans is looking to make inroads into Europe.
“We have worked with WAG since 2000,” he said. “They have helped in particular with enabling us to exhibit overseas at key trade fairs, which have increased our profile and potential customers’ perception of us.
“We’re looking at partnering in Europe, which we see as a growing market, and with WAG’s continuing help – which is another benefit of operating in Wales – hopefully, we will.”
Mike Foley on Peter Evans (690 Kb)
