Wilson Field Celebrates 20 Years In Business

With Sheffield-based insolvency practitioners Wilson Field celebrating its twentieth year in business, founder and managing director Nick Wilson, talks about how the business has grown since its inception in 2001.

We started off in 2001 with five employees in a small, one-room rented office, focusing solely on liquidations. At that time, directors facing financial trouble were more likely to utilise the services of larger firms of insolvency practitioners; and it wasn’t easy to win market share locally. However, with perseverance and hard work we did it! This led to a need to recruit, and the team continued to grow annually to the 80 staff we now have today.

We also began to forge relationships with local accountants, solicitors, independent funders and directors that have lasted to this day, and that have been integral to our continued growth.

Once we had achieved local success in South Yorkshire, we wanted to expand our offering nationwide. This was never going to be easy, as we didn’t want to achieve success through acquisition, we wanted to achieve it through purely organic growth. We also didn’t want to sacrifice any of our core beliefs as a firm to obtain more of a market share- we wanted to remain truly independent.

We took the step, earlier than most, to invest heavily in our digital presence to help us achieve our goals with regards to winning work nationally. This has worked brilliantly- and our digital presence continues to go from strength to strength.

We also continued to forge new relationships across the country, which led to us being referred work from a larger range of introducers than ever before.

In the past 10 years, we have won large numbers of appointments nationwide, of all sizes and complexities. We no longer focus solely on CVLs, we undertake all forms of insolvency assignments and also MVLs.

Our people have always remained key to our success- put simply, we would not be where we are today without them. We have always looked to give opportunities to staff and develop as a business, which is why most recently we have been pleased to add Kelly Burton, and Gemma Roberts to the board of directors. Kelly is an incredibly successful IP and has been with the company for the past 10 years, while Gemma has been with us right from the start and was one of our initial 5 employees as a 16-year-old.

Something that has always been very close to us as a local, family firm, is giving back to the local community, so working with local charities has also been a big part of the Wilson Field legacy. Charity work has always been an important part of the ethos of the company. We have had people brave heights from 6,000 feet skydives as a means of raising money for Whirlow Hall Farm Trust, runners coming together for Neurocare and even an abseil down Sheffield Hallam’s famous Owen building for St Luke’s.

Whilst the past 2 years have been challenging, Wilson Field has done what we are good at- changing and adapting under pressure whilst ensuring that the quality of our offering to all our clients hasn’t diminished. Thanks to everyone who has supported WF over the past 20 years- be that internally or externally. Here’s to the next 20 years!