Just what the Doctor ordered
29/09/08 Shropshire Star - click to enlarge
It’s just what the doctor ordered
29th September 2008,
DR Harry Brunjes is no ordinary doctor. A former professional pianist turned clinician, he has written his own prescription for business success and is now reaping the rewards as the boss of Britain’s biggest medical reporting company.
He is the chairman of Premier Medical Group, a Ludlow-based company with a £40 million turnover, which has just announced the creation of an extra 140 jobs over the next five years.
The business, enlarged earlier this year following the £35 million merger of Dr Brunjes’ company Premier Medical and Medico Legal Reporting in Pangbourne, Berkshire, is now embarking on ambitious expansion plans moving into the rehabilitation and occupational health sectors as well as aiming to set up private GP clinics across the country.
The core business of Premier Medical is preparing reports used in accident and injury insurance claims but the Nomura-Bank-backed merger is the latest business move which will see growth surge forward in a rapidly growing niche market.
Or Brunjes, who lives in Brighton with his choreographer wife, Jacqueline Storey began the business through a circuitous route which saw him touring as a pianist before deciding that medicine was perhaps a safer career choice than showbusiness.
He said: ‘I’m a doctor, I trained at Guy’s Hospital and I was a police surgeon as well. ’I went into Harley Street and began doing medical reports for the police force. It was a load of work, I was doing it from my rooms in Harley Street but there was too much for me to do. I had some of my friends from Guy’s to help me out. By 1993, we were discovered by law firms and began doing work in London, Norwich, Plymouth and Bristol.
By 1995, I thought there was an opportunity for us to become a business.”One of my children came up with the name Premier Medical and then the business became more nationwide, we began to secure some quite big contracts with some famous names.”
“We were working with the police, the fire service and then we got the rehabilitation contract for Norwich Union”
Dr. Brunjes opened up an office in his home town of Brighton, before expanding to a second office in Birmingham. The office in Birmingham was manned, primarily by our senior staff, by people from the Ludlow area. Every day they came to Birmingham from Ludlow, so I decided we ought to consolidate the offices, and the quality of staff was excellent, the people from Ludlow were brilliant.
“In Brighton,I was always competing with big businesses in terms of human resources so we made the move to open an office at the Business Park in Ludlow and close the others down.”
Much Wenlock GP Bob Goodall was brought in as the company’s chief medical officer, the only Shropshire-based member of Premier Medicals board, and two and as half years ago Dr. Brunjes went looking for his Chief Executive.
Chairman
“In 2002, I became chairman of BUP’s personal injury strategy forum and Jason Powell was head of innovation at BUPA. My business was getting bigger and bigge and I now neede other skill sets.”
“I did an internal headhunt at BUPA and Jason Powell is an exceptionally talented young man.” Clearly proud of his find, Brunjes lists his CEO’s achievements (which includes a first in business studies and an MBA from Cranfield) and signposts his role in the massive expansion planned for the enlarged group following the £35 million merger earlier this year.
Mr Powell was the founder of BUPA’s rehabilitation arm, Recover, and is now amsterminding a rehabilitation business for Premier Medical as well as further acquisitions in the pipeline.
He said both Pangboume and Ludlow were vital to the success of the enlarged company, but added the new jobs would be created at the south Shropshire headquarters.
The interesting thing about the growth of the company is that, yes, we have had ten years of sustained growth, sales growth and profit growth. But culturally it’s gone from being a glorified office with an office manager and some secretaries to being a hi-tech IT-led highly sophisticated business that uses complex electronic links with its customers, and a range of technologies to keep the management team together.
“All the documentation is viewable by the management team wherever they are. So it means the business has demanded a much greater level of skill from the people “We have tackled it in two ways, one is to develop the people who are already here and we have some real gems herein Ludlow. “But we are also looking for new people, we are looking for sophisticated administrative staff with presentation skills and spreadsheet skills. IT people and technical staff and also medical people. “We have a recruitment drive on nurses, we do a lot of telephone nurse triage, and nurse call centre-based services.”
Premier Medical, which moved to the new Ludlow Eco Park in Ludlow last year, is now the largest provider of medical opinion in the UK, taking 15 per cent of the market share.
De. Brunjes, who can oftern be spotted on the golf course for charity evernt with top names such as Willie Thorne and Jodie Kidd, is now aiming for a £100 million turnover and has clients with household names such as Saga, Churchill, RBS and Direct Line.
Not bad for a doc whose claim to fame 30 years ago was performing as a punk rock pianist in the 70s television show Rock Follies.
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