randd’s 15th birthday fell on a Sunday…so what better way to mark the occasion than with a party for the staff and their families?
Everyone has worked hard to make randd a true success story since the company was founded in 2008, and the birthday ‘bash’ was an ideal way to recognise our achievements.
Matt Timby, one of randd’s directors, tells how even the inevitable British summer weather could not dampen the spirits on a day to remember…
randd uk limited was born in the summer of 2008, during the ‘credit crunch’ year for those of you old enough to remember that.
In fact, the exact date on which randd was incorporated was July 16th 2008, so its 15-year anniversary fell on a Sunday. To mark the occasion, the staff and directors at randd decided to hold a celebratory summer bash. A Sunday afternoon in the middle of summer, should be a fine and hot day all round…you’d have thought! More about the rain later.
randd uk has always been a small, friendly team and a family affair but as it had grown quite rapidly over the last couple of years, us ‘oldies’ had started to feel we had lost touch on that aspect a little. So, for the summer ‘do’, we also invited all the staff’s ‘significant others’ and children, and grandchild in my case! There were around 60 of us in all and it was great to meet everyone else’s WAGS, HABS and kids. When we are chatting at work about what we did at the weekend and on holiday etc, of course partners and children are a big feature in those conversations so it was brilliant to put faces to names.
We had booked ourselves an entire suite, private bar and outdoor area at Derby’s prestigious Kedleston Country House. We put on some lovely food and booked a band. Everyone was dressed up smartly and ready to party…and then the rain came! Then it stopped, then it came again. What a lovely summer we are having in England this year! Nevertheless, the expansive outdoor area was put to good use, between downpours, especially by the kids. My wife took some outdoor toys and games (skittles, lawn darts, children’s flying rockets etc) for the kids to play with, whilst their mums and dads enjoyed the drinks.
Fifteen years in business is a quite an achievement for a boutique tax advisory practice like ours. Most R&D firms have only sprung up within the last couple of years, but we have been here since before R&D really took off and most businesses weren’t aware of it. I would like to think randd have helped raise that awareness, especially through our UK-wide network of accountancy practices. Us randd ‘oldies’ (especially Ryan, Adam and myself) who have worked here for over 10 years have seen the company grow and change hugely since we first started. The R&D market itself has also evolved over that time and we have had to change and adapt with Government policy changes. We have seen so many Chancellors (who ultimately head up Government policy on R&D) come and go in that timeframe, eight in all…our careers have lasted longer than theirs!
So, with all these changes and the growth of the company, it was nice to ‘get back to basics’, get to know each other and our families better, get our ‘glad rags’ on, forget about the office for a bit and jolly well let our hair down. A time to mark the occasion and a time to celebrate for all.
