Sedulo Founding Partner

ridiculously good, there are too many to mention, but it was a particular proud moment of mine to see one of the greatest sportsmen in the world, in the form of Sugar Ray Leonard, having pictures and signing gloves for us all in The Regency Club in Manchester.

Our other investments Perfect Getaways and HMN24 both had record years, and we became the majority shareholder of sportswear brand, IGD SPORT, in the summer.

Our headcount started the year at 160 and ended at 172, which shows that we have made progress on the ‘maturing phase’ of the organisation, in that we haven’t had to bring too many more people in, to achieve the growth. Done instead, by valuing our time, and expecting the client to do the same.

Giving Back Together…

Our back to school campaign was the largest yet. We provided 1,000 children with over £30,000 worth of home-schooling equipment and Nando’s food vouchers for underprivileged children during the summer.

Our Xmas toy appeal was also the biggest yet, we provided for 750 children in 2021, in 2022 we have given out 1,170 Santa sacks – almost 15,000 presents. We have also provided nearly £15,000 of Xmas dinner vouchers for the family to enjoy not just the morning but the afternoon together. I estimate the total of our Xmas campaign this year to be close to £100,000.

We sponsored numerous charities throughout the year including Once Upon A Smile and Football 4 Change. We had numerous requests for donations to help causes and we obliged to dozens, with monetary contribution to their campaigns, next year we will formalise these activities more with the launch of our own Foundation.

It’s been a great team effort, and we have positively impacted our communities massively – well done to everyone who has given during 2022!

Having Fun Together

Our 2022 Conference finished with a festival with 5ive and Phatts & Small performing some number 1 hits.

Last year we brought Benidorm to Sedulo due to travel restrictions, this year we brought Sedulo to Benidorm. 125 of us made the trip, by far our largest Xmas party. It was a great time and resulted in relationships being formed across services, and territories, and we look forward to 2023’s already. It is a key party of our annual diary.

We hosted numerous sporting events across our sport, and the team organised some great internal events, including Will Stanton’s ‘Oktoberfest’, and some sporting evenings with guests such as, Viv Anderson, Jason Robinson and Gordon Strachan.

What to expect for 2023?

2023 is a crucial year for the organisation. When we did our 3 year plan in 2019, we perhaps didn’t understand, that the end of this plan would mean we would have some new foundations that require laying before we moved onto the next. 2022 has laid the foundations for the next 3 years, so I envisage a calmer, more organised 2023.

We will continue to grow, but at a more sustained level. We have fuelled Funding and R&D this year, so will feel the benefit of this next year.

The National reorganisation will be a huge factor as we look to grow core business by increasing fees, growing our presence in the London market and moving further up the food chain to embed ourselves as a national mid-tier proposition. We will launch the consultancy side of the business, with a new corporate brochure, as a point of reference for the business we have created.

I said in last years notes, that we would focus on team happiness, and in May this year we introduced the weekly pulse happiness score. We have seen scores climb as we recruited correctly, and paid attention to the needs of the team, offering quick solutions where we could.

In 2023 we will introduce something similar for our clients to measure their levels of satisfaction with us.

Meanwhile we will formalise all the work we do in our communities, with the launch of The Sedulo Foundation, our registration is already in progress, expect a gala dinner in June 2023.

Finally, we aim to make strides in our own journey to impact the planet positively. We have just started our journey to Carbon neutral and Net Zero, and this will become a priority during the next 12 months.

As I mentioned earlier, we are not only working hard right now on the transactional and functionality aspect of what we do, but progressing on the higher level stuff that will make us a market leader in what we do. Making us an established and respected brand in the markets we operate in.

We planted and watered thousands of seeds this year, and next year we will see them shoot, and grow.

All in all, it’s been yet another year of progression.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank you all for your hard work and dedication shown during the year, being world-class isn’t easy. Being on a journey to becoming a special organisation is going have twists and turns, but with the current team we have we will get there. When we do it will benefit everyone, as I have said before.

I would like to wish you and your families all a Happy Xmas and New Year, and hope you all have a healthy and prosperous 2023!

Best Wishes,