Case Studies:
Hotels and More - Queen's Award Winners

When Blick Rothenberg clients succeed in their business, we’re happy. But when they win international recognition for their achievements, we’re ecstatic.

Earlier this summer incoming tour operator Hotels and More won a Queen’s Award for International Trade.

The award was given on the basis of “outstanding achievement in international trade, substantial growth in overseas earnings and commercial success, sustained over three years, to levels which are outstanding.”

The German parent company Schleuter Touristik GmbH was founded by Wolfram Schleuter approximately 10 years ago.

“We decided to come to the UK,” says Schleuter, “because of the amount of business our company was generating in the UK. It made sense to set up office and send some people over here.”

“We act for European tour operators, booking hotel accomodation, planning itineraries, offering support services in the UK, providing up-to date news - and also entrance tickets, guided tours and sight-seeing. We are a purely business-to-business model.”

Initially, most of the company’s business in the UK came from its German parent: “But now 40% of our business comes from other operators across Europe,” says Schleuter.

Having decided that a UK office made sense, Schleuter needed professional advice. “The Invest in Britain Bureau in Germany suggested BRAL as a good set-up operator. I had a first meeting with them and Blick Rothenberg partner Colin Lehmann and decided on a limited company structure. Then we started to rent a serviced office space - just enough for 3 people. My first key task was to recruit managers for the company, and then we were able to start actively seeking new business.”

“For 3 and half years BRAL did all our back-office tasks: accounting; book keeping; paying suppliers; management reporting. They advised us on current legislation, rules and regulations. It was a full start-up package, and Blick Rothenberg have given us on-going commercial advice. Colin is my main contact, and I also get corporate tax advice from Nilesh Shah, and my personal tax is dealt with by Sue Cantelo.”

One of the first things Schleuter noticed was a different kind of professional advice than he was used to in Germany.

“A good example is my relationship with Colin Lehmann. A typical professional advisor in Germany would stick purely to the subject - law with a lawyer, or figures with an accountant. In the UK, professional advisers look at the full picture, the commercial side of your business, and not just the numbers. They offer their own personal input. Colin would tell me what he thinks works best.”

Hotels and More have found London an excellent place for business, with good infrastructure, and attractively low costs. “The tax system in the UK makes it very attractive as a base,” admits Wolfram, “but it’s also a great travel destination, and regulations are not as tight as in Germany.”

But there must have been some hiccups…

“I was used to running a successful company in Germany - it’s very difficult to start again from nothing. If you don’t have a relationship with a bank and with other suppliers, it can be quite a hurdle. Little things like getting a mobile phone for the business - you can’t get that unless you’ve been trading in UK for 3 years.”

“But I very much like the British way of doing things - not as stiff as Germans, more down-to-earth and much less bureaucratic.”

But by far the best moment for Schleuter so far has been receiving the Queen’s award. “It’s a very nice achievement after only 4 years, especially as a newcomer - to achieve an award designed to reward the best companies in the UK.

“There will be a presentation at our offices in Harrow in December, when a representative of Queen will present the award.”

The award has encouraged Hotels and More to keep aiming high. Schleuter is not a man to rest on his successes. They are expanding their range of destinations and have started a new division in the UK called Incentive Directors. It will offer corporate hospitality incentive travel for UK and european companies and their top-flight employees.

Now that they’re award winners, what advice would Schleuter and his team offer to other companies hoping to do business in the UK?

“I would suggest two things: firstly, go to Blick Rothenberg! No honestly, it’s terribly important to have someone who understands the culture of a european business, and having a partner who can speak your own language. The second thing is to spend time looking for the right people: the right advisers, the right staff.”