Alistair Houghton meets ROB CROSSLAND, MD of payroll specialist Parasol

THE signed rugby shirts on his office wall, all bearing his company’s logo, show Rob Crossland is proud of his team and proud of his business.

Hull-born Crossland founded “umbrella company” Parasol in 2000, and has seen it grow into one of the biggest players in its field, with a huge £366m turnover and private equity backing.

But, despite growing a massive business on the other side of the country, Crossland’s boyhood love of Super League team Hull Kingston Rovers has never left him. Today he is the club’s vice-chairman – and his company’s name adorns the players’ shirts.

The enthusiastic and straight-talking Crossland is an engaging host at his company’s Warrington headquarters, happy to chat at length on anything to do with his sector, his business – and, of course, his team.

Parasol employs independent contractors, taking care of their tax returns and giving them full contracts of employment while still giving them the freedom to move from contract to contract.

Its contractors work in sectors from the media to telecommunications and oil and gas exploration. At any one time, it has 8,000 contractors under management in the UK and outside.

“An employee and a freelancer – it’s an interesting concept,” said Crossland, who is married with four children and lives in Staffordshire.

“But they get set conditions, guaranteed hours, and we can look after them if their agency has financial difficulties.

“It’s a halfway house. It’s a combination of them still being able to do the work they want to do, and do different roles and assignments, but with an arm around them.”

Crossland left school in Hull after his O-Levels, and began training to be an accountant. He moved into software, eventually running two small IT businesses before becoming a freelance IT consultant.

As a freelancer, Crossland had to take care of his own admin – something he admits was not his forte – and that gave him the idea to use the power of the internet to help other contractors.

“I was fed up doing admin myself, and thought ‘there’s got to be an easier way’.

“I thought that if I could do it for myself, I could do it for other people. And if I could do it for some, I could do it for many.

“It’s a classic entrepreneurial thing. I didn’t invent the idea. There were already umbrella companies out there, but it was done by post, with cheques. It was all very accountancy-led. I looked at it and thought I could do it a lot quicker and easier using the web.

“The culture here comes from the fact that I’ve been a contractor myself. I’ve been on the receiving end.”

Parasol launched in 2000 and grew steadily, recruiting contractors from across the UK. It now employs 120 people at its Warrington base.

In October, 2006, the original investors in the company sold their shares in a £24m management buy-out deal backed by Inflexion Private Equity.

Inflexion owns 65% of the business, with Crossland owning 25% and other managers owning the rest.

Crossland chose to speak to private equity firms after deciding he did not want to lumber the company with bank debt.

He says the hands-on involvement of his private equity investment has helped the business operate more professionally, but admits adjusting to new ownership was a challenge.

“It was not without its frustrations at times,” he said.

“You know instinctively and intuitively about your market and sector.

“You then have to educate not only your investors but also their advisers. Half your time in those early days is spent on education.

“But, on the whole, I’ve enjoyed it. I look forward to what comes next.”

One thing Crossland is not looking forward to, however, is the implementation of the new Agency Workers Directive (AWD) next year.

The new law aims to protect vulnerable temporary workers from exploitation. Any temporary worker employed for longer than 12 weeks will be given the same protection as a full-time worker.

Crossland, however, says the legislation fails to distinguish between genuinely vulnerable low-paid workers and those professionals choosing to go freelance to better their careers. He fears the increased costs the legislation will bring could put companies off hiring contractors, threatening his business.

“The really ironic thing for umbrella contractors,” said a clearly exasperated Crossland, “is that much of what AWD tries to do is already provided by businesses like Parasol.

“The AWD is quite a stinging blow to the economy. Our competitiveness is going to be materially changed by this.”

Crossland isn’t campaigning alone and has led the creation of a new trade association to bring the industry together.

The Service Providers Association will develop codes of practice for the umbrella services industry and work with the Government and HMRC to push the sector’s case.

Crossland also warns that making agency workers’ lives more difficult may lead them to move offshore – depriving the Treasury of the tax revenues provided by companies such as Parasol.

The company’s vision is “interpreting HMRC legislation in a whiter-than-white way that allows contractors to sleep at night”. That, says Crossland, means helping people to pay the taxes they owe, not finding elaborate ways to avoid paying tax.

The future, says Crossland, will see Parasol look to “sensible diversification” at home and overseas as the company looks to export its model to other markets including the US.

Despite AWD, Crossland believes more people will consider becoming freelance contractors as they realise how it could boost their CVs.

He said: “People are interested in working for brands – not necessarily in a direct employment relationship, but in being able to say they’ve worked for Apple, or Google, or Shell.

“They want an ability to move around brands and skills, but also to move around geographically.”

Crossland was a schoolmate of Hull KR chairman Neil Hudgell, who invited him to join the club’s board in 2007.

He has seen the club secure its three-year Super League franchise and it is now working to develop British rugby talent and develop its Craven Park stadium.

He says that seeing his company’s name on his beloved club’s shirts is “massive” for him.

“Rugby league is very different to this business,” he said. “It keeps my feet on the ground in some ways.

“Sports clubs are not massive organisations, but they have to deal with passionate customers and all that goes with that.

“You’ve got to try to stay focused on long-term goals , with a lot of short-term hassle. It improves your skin thickness.

“It’s a long-term project. I’m just a custodian there. We’re just holding the reins until the next generation comes along – hopefully we can leave it in a better condition than it was in when we arrived.”

Yet there are, he says, some lessons that business can learn from rugby league.

He said: “Some things do translate – good coaching, good techniques of man management and how to get the best out of your players. That’s translatable to sales, marketing and other arenas.”