Douglas Cave

I’ve been a client of Henwood Court for about 8 to 10 years now. In my first meeting with Nick, I expected to come in and for it to be all about money and how much money you want to have when you retire, but I remember it being just all about me and my family, our careers and what we wanted our future to be. The most important thing to Nick was our journey up to that point and then dealing head on with the inevitable things that we might not have wanted to talk about before.

I think having Nick on board before I sold the business allowed a much more seamless transition. It’s a daunting time selling a business, but having somebody there who knows what you want to do after you’re finished is essential. I needed somebody there before I sold my businesses rather than waiting until afterwards then trying to find somebody to help me. So, I think for me, it was essential to have somebody on board before I sold the business. It was very reassuring to have Nick there monitoring my future plans as I was going through the sale of my business.

Having Nick know my plans for after I sold the business reassured me that while I was focusing on the sale, somebody was looking after the future while I didn’t have the time to spend on that. Nick doesn’t tell you what to do – he lets you think about what your plans are, what your future is, and what it holds, and then guides you to the decisions that work best for you, because we’re all going to be slightly different in what we do.

I’d like to think that I could have done it on my own, but having Nick there, gives you reassurance that you’re making the right decisions and that there’s somebody looking out for you. You’re not just having to do it all by yourself, because part of retirement is being able to step back from being a businessman and worrying all the time that things are going to work out. And having Nick and his team there, making sure things are ticking over, gives me the reassurance that we can enjoy our retirement.

The best piece of advice Nick ever gave to me was probably just believing in myself and my plan. He helped me activate my plan, rather than telling me what to do. That was the most salient or the best piece of advice that he gave me, to just trust myself.

The best thing about Henwood Court is that everybody – Nick and the whole team – is on board with the plan. You don’t have to explain yourself to anybody else in the team; they already know what the plan is, and they’re there to help Nick and the others complete my plan. I don’t have to run through it each and every time, as they are all on board, they’re switched on, and they work very well as a team. It’s a collective effort. The three words I’d use to describe Henwood Court would be “trustworthy”, “thorough”, and a part of our “family”. I’d recommend Nick and Henwood Court to any business owner who cares about their future, as while they’re working on their business, they can trust that Nick and his team will look after their long-term future.