OW Simon Hughes launched The Working Capital Group (WorkCap) to help small-medium size businesses better manage cashflow during the Coronavirus pandemic. With a specialist focus on debt collection and accounts, WorkCap aims to provide support, reasonably and accessibly to struggling businesses.
Simon, Founder and Managing Director of WorkCap, explains; “Our approach is conducive to good business and based on our core values of integrity, excellence, giving back and humility.”
Simon left Whitgift in 2006 and went on to study a BSc Hons in Business Management from the University of East Anglia.
He held senior recovery and compliance roles until January 2020 before taking a short career break to become a fulltime dad. In July 2020, he launched WorkCap with a company mission to ‘seamlessly link in with small to medium size businesses across the UK, providing a blend of optimised traditional and technology driven credit management, credit control and debt recovery solutions.’
Having seen many small businesses face huge challenges as a result of the pandemic, Simon felt that using his expertise and experience to give back made sense. Having provided lots of informal advice and guidance within his existing network, he wanted to create a purpose-built business with a concrete mission.
WorkCap’s portfolio spans across a broad range of businesses from locals in accounting and construction to multinational e-commerce lenders and high net worth property portfolio managers. Goals for the future are impact driven, providing quality services in a timely and cost-effective way. “We’d love to be a plugin for UK businesses, giving them an edge through providing not just credit control management and debt recovery services but other important tools such as legal expertise, funding, wellbeing support and more.”
Having studied and worked at reputable institutions and companies, Simon feels Whitgift provided a ‘superb foundation for success’.
“The underlying culture of encouragement, support and excellence is what sets Whitgift apart. The encouragement to have a go, support to make it happen and the pursuit of excellence are all ingrained at an early stage. These fundamentals contributed heavily to my mindset today as an entrepreneur. Whitgift strikes a balance of structure, consideration and ambition that undoubtedly helps to launch students into whatever path they choose. It is a real privilege that many of us only realise down the line.”
Simon is very much looking forward to reconnecting with his peers at his upcoming class reunion. “It’ll be nice to know what is happening at the School and looking back on our days at Whitgift as a collective.”