Justin Randall joined Jeffreys Henry in 1994 and became a partner in 1995, leading its digital revolution which would pave its tech-centric path to set the firm apart from your average accountants. A combination of innovative tech, a market leading approach to digital marketing, and flexible resourcing model set Jeffreys Henry up for fast growth in the essential business services space, with Justin becoming managing partner in 2017.
The business is now primed to springboard swiftly into its next phase, building on the continuous double-digit growth it’s experienced throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Tenzing and Jeffreys Henry partnership is one of true synergy. Looking for a firm that matched its ambition and strategy, Tenzing had thoroughly researched the market, reviewing a number of competitors before honing in on Jeffreys Henry, who ticked all the boxes in terms of offering tech-enabled, mission critical business services. Its huge growth potential was massively appealing, with strong NPS scores and a reputation for quality service resulting in market-leading client retention across Jeffreys Henry’s customer base.
For Justin, with some of the firm’s longest serving partners approaching retirement, it became evident this was the time for a clear future direction – one that he was confident would have technology and innovation at its heart.
Justin Randall
Managing Partner of Jeffreys Henry
Justin’s long-standing association with incoming Chair David Silver, strategic advisor and long-term friend of Tenzing, led him to meet the Tenzing team and learn more about the culture and growth offering. The rest, as they say, is history, and Tenzing is now backing the existing partner group to continue the evolution of the platform as a market-leading, client-focused essential business service provider for UK SMEs.
Tenzing’s wider specialist support network, and expertise in M&A strategy, was particularly appealing to Justin, on top of confidence in the relationships being built with the Tenzing team. Justin is also looking forward to working with a Tenzing Sherpa, whose brief is to work on special projects and support the CEO.
“I was really attracted to the support for both marketing and growth initiatives. There’s a lot of M&A opportunities in our market. That’s one of the things we want to engage in together,” Justin reveals.
“I have a very good feeling about the Tenzing culture and the way they like to work with their invested companies.”
When Justin became Managing Partner in 2017, he began considering the future direction of the business – one that enabled it to realise its full potential, with aligned, committed partners that were able to offer the resource, additional skill sets and experience to grow businesses like Jeffreys Henry.
“Private equity enables us to keep our independence and identity,” Justin reflects. “Being acquired by another firm ultimately wasn’t what we were looking for. We want to be the ones that drive the strategy – not work to somebody else’s agenda.”
Together, Jeffreys Henry and Tenzing have a bold plan to further accelerate the company’s use of technology, with a focus on user experience.
“We have a culture of making bold strategic decisions which set a precedent for implementation of new technology and innovative processes before our competitors, staying one step ahead of the market. It’s understanding what we need in order to drive profitability and productivity for our business,” Justin states.
“We have some exciting initiatives – we want to launch a new platform for clients, which is going to bring together all the different services we provide. That’s a key part of Tenzing’s involvement – getting their guidance and input into that.”
