- What is your name, and what is the name of your business?
I am Allan Shaw of Elect Capital Allowances.
- What does the business do and who are your customers?
Our business is in Tax relief for owners and tenants in commercial buildings. For anyone who has a commercial property there is effectively tax relief wrapped up in the building that they won’t know about. What I mean by that is, for example, you buy a laptop, it depreciates by 25% a year and after 4 years you buy a new one. And you buy that out of untaxed income. Now why can you not do that with your boiler, your electrics, your cold-water system, your hot-water system, the air conditioning? The answer is you can, but the specialism is how do you price that and that is where we come in. We forensically survey the building, identify everything in there that falls under ‘plant and machinery’ and then factor in the costs of the work to replace the item as well as the cost of that item. There are even nuances of how much that work will cost depending on where you are geographically in the country. We can then go back to the client with a figure that they will be able to claim in tax relief.
However, it is also a never-ending changing landscape of legislation and so you just get on top of things and it all changes again!
- What’s the history of the business & what’s your role within the business?
Elect Capital Allowances have recently been purchased by AMS and there are now 350 people in the group. As we are a nationwide business I go everywhere in the UK but now, since the take-over, I am able to focus more on the Southeast and Southwest.
- How long have you been here at Freshmill and why were you looking for a space like this?
I have been here about a year. I was invited by HHBA to a networking event here and I loved it! The reason I was looking for somewhere like this is because I am rubbish at working from home! I like being around people that are working – it makes me work harder!
- Why does Freshmill work well for you and your business?
Freshmill is just a lovely environment to work in. It is not like a conventional hotdesking space in my opinion; it’s more like a club. There is a beautiful kitchen area; the concierge team are all brilliant and if I bring a client here it is both professional and yet also very relaxed. The other important aspect is that there is parking, which is key, and it is close to the station; it has so much going for it! I also really enjoy being around the variety of people who work from here. It is great meeting them, networking, and finding out about what they do.
- What is the most important lesson you have gained from your career so far?
It wasn’t a lesson as such, more something someone said to me. Years ago I used to run a Publishing House, I was Managing Director and the Chairman was a chap called Ron Moody. We were going down to the Annual Conference in Spain, and although he didn’t enjoy public speaking, he knew he had to say a few words to the attendees. So, he stood on the stage and said, ‘ I just want to leave you with this. We are never necessarily going to be the biggest at what we do, but we do want to be the people that are thought of first.’ And this stayed with me.
I think that is really important to aim for in whatever you do. You don’t have to strive to be the biggest but you do have to be the best, and if you are the best you will be the people they think of first.
- Where do you hope to be in 5 years time?
As a group of companies we have very ambitious growth plans and the Capital Allowances division is a big part of those growth plans, I couldn’t retire, my wife would kill me!! I need to be busy and I love what I do! I recognise that if you enjoy what you do for work you are in the very privileged minority! I feel like there is a lot of that at Freshmill, I don’t know what it is – I guess that many of the people here are working for themselves, having set up their own businesses etc, but I have never been in a building where there are so many people smiling, there is a good vibe here in Freshmill!
- What advice would you give your younger self just starting out?
Don’t decide what you want to do too quickly. Getting lots of broad experience is much better. When I left school I was a welder, I have been CEO of a software company, the MD of a publishing house and now I work in tax relief, so it is also important to remember that there is time to change direction and start again,
- What is your favourite quote/mantra?
The one from Ron – just be the person they think of first!
- If you could, who would you switch places with for the day, and why?
I think I would swap places with Elon Musk for the day and actually do something worthwhile with his money. I would get rid of it all in one go – so when we swapped back there is nothing left, but a lot of people have benefitted! I would give it to such worthy causes that he could never ask for it back!
