GlenQ mark seven years’ success based on the simple principle of putting customers first
Looking forward to your next birthday? No, really looking forward to your next birthday – not just marking a calendar date signifying another year has passed, one less to go?
Sound cynical? Well, it’s a truism – for most – that the older you get, the less birthdays are greeted with giddy excitement. More like stolid resignation as our time ticks by.
But when you’re seven … now that’s something to get excited about.
Seven is the special number reached by Jersey-based private wealth experts GlenQ. Seven years since the company’s foundation. Seven years successful trading. Seven years sticking to a simple but valid principle: the customer comes first.
‘My first thoughts are how quickly the last seven years have passed,’ reflects GlenQ Principal Paul Glennon. ‘And then how far we’ve come in that time. From just three employees to a great team of 12 staff. And from a small number of mainly UK-based customers, to an expanding international client base across Europe, Africa and the Middle East. It’s been an incredibly rewarding time – and really exciting journey.’
That journey started when long term friends and sometimes work colleagues Paul Glennon and Iain Quenault discussed a common sense of purpose over lunch. How good would it be to put customers back at the heart of a private wealth business.
‘The finance industry was changing at the time,’ Paul recalls, ‘with ever-larger companies increasingly interested only in short-term prospects. Focus was very much on the bottom line. Long-term client relationships seemed a secondary consideration. So, Iain and I decided it was the right time to do something different. Create a boutique private wealth company based on traditional values but with a 21st century outlook. And call it GlenQ.’
The company’s founding principles were straightforward. Take the time needed to really understand your client’s circumstances and aspirations. Provide the personal touch that makes all the difference. Back everything with thoroughly modern business practices and systems. Ensure gold standard attention to detail and compliance. Simple perhaps, but soon proving effective.
‘We found a real demand for private wealth management services based on these principles,’ Paul continues, ‘among clients requiring trusts and foundations, for example, or company formation and management, or family office. It’s allowed us to grow over the last seven years and create firm foundations for the next seven and beyond.’
There have been lessons learned along the way of course. Promising paths that led nowhere, interesting opportunities that came to nothing. All have helped GlenQ refine and shape its chosen approach.
‘We quickly realised the importance of getting closer to clients,’ Paul highlights as an example, ‘which only really comes through visiting their home countries. Our first African clients were in Lagos, Nigeria. Nothing helps you understand that amazing city better than actually going there. And going there allows you to understand a client’s specific circumstances and needs. It means investing time and expense, of course, but creates a clear long-term relationship value.’
Those investments proved invaluable during the last year as the Covid pandemic put face-to-face visits on hold. Existing client business has remained as strong as ever while new business opportunities have provided continued company growth.
‘We’re not taking anything for granted,’ Paul concludes, ‘recognising our client needs and expectations will always evolve, as will the private wealth industry. But we believe continued success will come through continued commitment to our core values. Understand customer needs, provide a personal touch, operate a modern business and pay attention to detail. Straightforward enough, but these things all add up.’