DECEMBER 2018 Business 13
father-of-two says it is ‘pretty much
exactly the same.’
A set monthly fee gets businesses all
their contracts of employment and
compliance in place.
They are also taking 14,000 calls a
week in Manchester, at Victoria Place,
from customers on HR issues ranging
from absenteeism to colleagues
fighting.
“We advise the client as an in-house
HR department would because small
businesses often can’t afford to have
one” he explains.
Peninsula are available 24 hours a
day, 365 days a year.
Despite all efforts to get an employee
back to work if it does go to tribunal,
the firm will cover the cost of litigation
and have a team of specialists on hand
to fight the case.
“All the cost is covered and if we lose
the case we pick up the tab for the
award so a small business is covered
completely.”
They do a similar thing for health and
safety.
Successful international growth has
been integral to Peninsula’s high
growth and they opened in Australia six
years ago. Asked why they made such a
geographical leap, Done replies with
trademark honesty.
“Like a lot of things, I didn’t think it
would be the plan. I certainly wouldn’t
have gone 13,000 miles. I would have
maybe gone somewhere more local but
I had a phone call from a guy over there
who wanted us to invest in a similar
idea.
“When we went to check it out it was
like going back to 1986. It was an open
market.”
Taking the plunge, they bought the
business, which had six staff and 100
clients leaving the founder with a 35%
share. “We invested about $15m AUD
and grew the business to have offices in
Sydney, Melbourne, Perth and
Brisbane.”
Today, the Australian division has
750 staff and 24,000 clients, including
in New Zealand. It has made $26.3m
AUD in profit in this financial year and
is set to do $50m AUD next year.
Similarly, Peninsula opened in
Toronto, Canada 12 months ago and is
growing its foothold.
Asked why it is an easy model to roll
out, he says: “Small businesses the
world over have the same problems
and the management team I have built
up are the best.
“All my directors have been with me
ten or 15 years and they have grown up
in the business. They are also very
entrepreneurial themselves.
“I give them a business to run and if
the numbers are right and the service is
right then they grow and grow.
“I’m not on their backs all the time. I
know all the numbers inside out but I
don’t second guess them.”
Done clearly knows the value of a
good investment - whether that’s
ploughing £15m into growing BrightHR
or seeking out the best talent.
He has even started a Peninsula
Academy to train up the best in
the industry and bring through
a new wave of future
leaders.
They cut 300
applicants down to
18 to put them
through an
extensive training
programme
teaching them
everything from
making
appointments to
managing KPIs and
sales techniques.
But it’s not just the future
that inspires this businessman,
he also surrounds himself by past
successes and draws on the energy of
others.
“Motioning to the black and white
photos proudly hanging on one side of
his office he tells me ‘these are my
heroes’.
Smiling down is Manchester UnitedPeter’s brother,
Fred, and, right,
with Ryan Giggs
and Gary Neville‘It’s the best thing I’ve
ever done in my life and
we’ve had a fantastic
ride here’Peter Done
legend George Best, champion jockey
Frankie Dettori and boxer Muhammad
Ali, ready to take to the ring.
That natural ability to succeed shines
through in all of them - including
Done.
“When we started the
business it was a problem,
we had an employment
tribunal which took a
lot of time but we
turned that
problem into a
massive
opportunity.
“We had the
nous to say that’s a
great service and
we invested in that
little business to turn
it into what Peninsula is
today.”
Out of the office, Done
enjoys a jet set lifestyle and has just
returned from Australia where he
attended the Melbourne Cup. He has
been married to his wife, Anne, for 48
years and jokes that he still calls her a
scouser for coming from St Helens.
With beaming pride he also speaks of
his two children, who have bothachieved success outside the family
ventures including an Oxford degree
and a recruitment business in the City.
Done, who still lives in Salford,
remains tight-lipped about his
philanthropic nature, but I hear
anecdotes of his generosity from
colleagues.
He is also adamant not to name drop
his celebrity pals or to be seen as
indulgent in his property investments
over the years. Although he smiles
wryly when I ask if I can mention the
racehorse he owns.
All this amounts to the fact that he
hasn’t lost that ingrained Salford
modesty. I think it’s fair to say that
Done and his brother have made their
own luck in life, a pair of unlikely lads
who prove that anything is possible
with the right mindset and
determination.
“I was supposed to be coming back
from Peninsula after six months and we
were going to get a manager in, but 35
years later I’m still in the business,” he
points out.
“I’m just so glad that coin went in my
favour because it’s the best thing I’ve
ever done in my life and we’ve had a
fantastic ride here. It’s been amazing.”We have always been very close ever
since we were kids.
He is five years older and when we
lived in Salford he used to be with his
friends and I would follow him
around, sometimes he would tell me
to get lost as kids do. But we have
been partners since day one when we
opened our first shop 50 years ago.
We are slightly different in that Fred
is brilliant in the limelight. He does
BetFred TV every Saturday morning
from the shops and that’s the
highlight of his week being
interviewed and saying who’s going to
win the footie and what odds we are
going to give. I’m more of a marketing
and sales person where as Fred is
more up-front.
In the old days he used to settle the
bets and I used to be in the shop on
the counter making sure theatmosphere of the place was good.
We have always had different skills
and different qualities and that’s why
we have been so lucky because we
complement each other.
Most family businesses have
problems and trouble but we have
never had arguments. Anything that I
want to do in Peninsula he just says
do it and I’m the same.
When he wanted to buy the Tote as
outside bidders I asked how much
and he said ‘£275m’. I said ‘ok is it
worth it?’ And he replied ‘ I think two
and two make six on this one.’ So we
bought the Tote. That was seriously
our conversation. The thing is Fred
and I trust each other 100%.
I have always been a big
Manchester United fan and Georgie
Best is my idol. It’s been that way
since I was 11 and I’ve seen all thegreat teams.
Fred and I go to the matches
together, that is where we have our
board meetings, we just sit there and
have a chat about what’s going on.
The best team we ever had was the
Class of 92.
I had already known Gary Neville
and Ryan Giggs for some years before
they approached me about
sponsoring the re-modelled Salford
City stadium.
We shook hands in The Lowry over
a coffee and I left their people and
Alan Price to sort out the details.
The profile it has brought has been
amazing, especially for a non-league
club. Gary is a big believer in
Peninsula he loves the business and
Hotel Football is one of our clients.
We often speak about business
together.Done on his BetFred brother - and football