黑洞社区

It was one of the biggest business stories of the year. In January 2010 it was announced that global accountants and business consultants firm Deloitte had acquired property services group Drivers Jonas, itself no minnow. Then in June 2011 came the news that Deloitte intended to set up a construction cost consultancy business to
rival leading QS firms. Through acquisition and new business development, Deloitte was to offer a comprehensive construction and property service.

The man brought in to set up the cost consultancy business, which initially targeted commercial and residential development in central London, was Neill Morrison, formerly managing partner of Davis Langdon鈥檚 (DL) London office. Morrison is one of several high-profile partners at DL to have left following the company鈥檚 takeover by American giant Aecom and his departure immediately led to three other senior DL employees leaving to join him on his new venture.

Speaking to 黑洞社区 at the time Morrison said that the aim was to grow the business over five years to employ around 50 people with a turnover of about 鈧�7.5m. He added that he had no intention of poaching any more people from Davis Langdon. So, two years on from the business鈥檚 launch, how鈥檚 the plan shaping up?

At 55, Morrison comes across as open and dependable. He talks confidently, not too fast, not too slow, and without rhetorical flourish or hyperbole. He also says that London cabbies have a habit of mistaking him for football pundit Alan Hansen. At only one point in the interview does he appear to have to think hard before responding to a question - more of which later - and he insists that relations with his former employers remain amicable.

Morrison鈥檚 move to Deloitte to set up a new business also sets him apart from fellow DL departees. While some former colleagues have moved to similar roles at direct competitors and others have set up firms of their own, Morrison has steered a course down the middle in both moving to another major corporate entity and setting up a business. This, he says, was quite deliberate.

I said 鈥業 bet you鈥檙e thinking of doing what I do鈥�. Mike Cuthbert said, 鈥榃e are and you鈥檝e beaten me to the phone by 24 hours鈥�

鈥淐olleagues of mine have been leaving DL and setting up their own businesses,鈥� says Morrison. 鈥淏ut I think the difference with what I鈥檓 doing is that my focus is on how I can put myself into a position where I can do the sort of work that I was doing before, but in a different environment - that meant not going to join a major competitor of DL.鈥�

In order to achieve his goal to work for major clients on multi-million pound projects, Morrison reasoned, he would need the backing of a major company that could, at the same time, provide the investment required to build a high profile team and the reputational capital required to give major clients the confidence to hire a new entrant to the cost consultancy market.

鈥淚f you鈥檙e going to continue doing multi-million pound projects you have to have credibility, which means you have to have critical mass and a business reputation behind you,鈥� he says.

鈥淪ome of the businesses that were spawned out of DL will do very well, but they will start on a small scale and build and build and build over time. To put your faith in a business that鈥檚 so young without the backing [that we鈥檝e got] takes a leap of faith. I鈥檓 too old to start a grass roots business.鈥�

Morrison鈥檚 reasoning has clearly worked: he recently won major contracts on the redevelopment of the BBC鈥檚 Television Centre in west London, as well as the Allies & Morrison-designed 8-10 Moorgate project in the City. 鈥淚鈥檇 never have been doing Television Centre if I鈥檇 put up a brass plaque and said 鈥業鈥檓 Joe Bloggs and Co鈥�,鈥� he says.

While he made the first approach to Deloitte about the idea for a cost consultancy business, the man that he called - Deloitte partner Mike Cuthbert - told him that he was already planning to call him with the same idea the next day.

鈥淚 said that I bet you鈥檙e thinking of doing what I do. He said 鈥榳e are and you鈥檝e beaten me to the phone by 24 hours鈥�,鈥� says Morrison. 鈥淭hey already had a business plan in place, and they鈥檇 identified me as the person they wanted to do it.鈥�

In addition to his team鈥檚 focus on traditional projects work, the fact that his nascent business sits within Deloitte means that it is also involved in advising other aspects of the business on how clients can get best value from their property assets. According to Morrison, costs to business can be split into three categories: employees, IT - and property.

鈥淲e always see the world from a property point of view, but the truth is that property is the function - it鈥檚 the answer to your human capital and your IT issues,鈥� he says.
鈥淚 think that our industry has been too focused on projects, whereas what we should focus on is our clients鈥� businesses. I鈥檓 finding it exciting to have to use the grey matter to solve problems for clients, working with people who are in completely different disciplines.鈥�

For instance, Morrison says that he has worked with Deloitte鈥檚 mergers and acquisitions (M&A) team. As he points out, any M&A deal almost inevitably involves one company鈥檚 acquisition of another鈥檚 property portfolio. 鈥淲e鈥檙e working with them to see what they can do with that property portfolio,鈥� Morrison says. 鈥淲hat are the options for disposal, for consolidation?鈥�

As an example, he says that his team recently advised a company looking to acquire a chain of garden centres. 鈥淲e were looking at how they were going to maximise value by building caf茅s and restaurants and ramping up the use of the site,鈥� he says. 鈥淥ther colleagues were looking at the sites to see if they would be more valuable as residential or supermarkets and so on.鈥� Similarly, Morrison is currently bidding for work on a major PFI deal for a firm looking to take over a public service. Understandably he is tight-lipped as to the company involved and even the type of public service in question. 鈥淭hose opportunities will come to a consulting business; there will not be a beauty parade for cost consultants on the job. Having delivered the deal, if the deal goes through, we鈥檒l continue on with it.鈥�

The result of Morrison鈥檚 major projects wins and the work he is doing with other parts of Deloitte means that he is on track to deliver against his five year plan. He says that the plan was always to break even in year two and that in fact the business will make a profit of 鈥渟everal hundred thousand pounds鈥� at the end of its second year trading on a turnover of 拢2.5m-拢3m. He currently has a team of 20 against the target of 45 after five years, but says the team is currently top heavy and that most of the remaining positions will be more junior roles.

But what about the question of honouring that pledge to stop poaching DL staff? Asked directly about how many former colleagues have now joined him at Deloitte, Morrison sucks in air between his teeth and takes an uncharacteristically long time to respond.

鈥淚 have I think 10 or 11 people who are ex-DL,鈥� he says at last. 鈥淓ssentially, I had an agreement with DL whereby if someone approached me I would talk to them and we鈥檇 sort things out amicably and we have. The people who鈥檝e joined me would have left anyway. They鈥檝e not been poached, as such.鈥�

He adds that in all cases the initial approach came from the individuals concerned, rather than from him.

So, Morrison鈥檚 post-DL venture is on track to deliver on the five-year plan set out in 2011. And he has stopped poaching former colleagues. Sort of.