Aged 22, Tom Parling started up Ocere Limited in Cheltenham as a small business operating in the digital marketing space, incorporating the business in 2009, from his bedroom. What followed was a huge success story.
The accounts and tax affairs of the company were initially dealt with by a small firm in London, however as the business developed, Tom recognised that the development work the company was undertaking would qualify for R&D Tax Credits.
Randall & Payne first became involved in the business in 2014 after Tom won Young Businessperson of the Year at the Gloucestershire Business Awards (and again in 2018), for which Randall & Payne were the headline sponsor. I first met Tom at the finalists’ drinks reception and we got talking about the business.
Initially Tom had a national specialist based in Scotland for R&D advice and was pleased to find someone local who could assist with the company’s claims annually. At that stage the company still only had five employees and a turnover of £600,000, so it was not the right time to move the wider accounting services away from the small London firm. And so began a strong business relationship with me that grew in scope as the business expanded in size and, consequentially, support needs.
It was in 2019, when the company had grown rapidly to over £1 million turnover, that Tom felt the time was right to move the wider accounting and taxation services to Randall & Payne, and Carrie Dailly took the lead for these aspects of the support package, in particular striking up a very good relationship with Ocere’s accounts manager Mandy.
During the Covid-19 pandemic many businesses struggled to cope, however this was the time that Ocere really began to grow, turning rapidly into a £5.2 million turnover business shortly after lockdown, following two years of 63% and 113% growth. With the shift of so much of the business world to online, Ocere was ideally placed with their online presence and digital marketing tools to help businesses either survive or thrive.
With the growth being significantly in overseas markets as well as the UK, the company was awarded the Queen’s Award for Enterprise for International Trade in 2021.
This level of growth and the ever-growing array of awards sparked interest in the company from the larger multinational business world. In December 2021 the company was acquired in a multi-million-pound deal by the French group JVWEB. Randall & Payne provided support for the sale including completion accounts and tax advice. Following the sale, our audit team, led by Audit Partner Ryan Moore, stepped in to provide audited accounts for the UK company, reporting into the French group.
Tom Parling, Ocere:
Randall & Payne were proven to be a solid local partner, that were responsive, fairly priced and always had our best interests at heart. They supported us from fledgling company through to our international growth.”
Contact James Geary for more information by emailing james.geary@randall-payne.co.uk or call 01242 776000.
Image: Chris Pockett from Renishaw Plc presents Tom Parling, Ocere Ltd, with award for Young Businessperson of the Year at the Gloucestershire Business Awards 2018 (image: Anna Lythgoe)
