London Stock Exchange – Exit interview: Sean Royce on THAT fab FTSE listing and the full fibre he fed to the city he loves
From pioneering red button technology and welcoming Rupert Murdoch with quickly-sourced fine china, to the huge flotation and fighting for the right to stake KCom’s future on full fibre, Sean Royce’s 32 year career has been nothing short of spectacular.
After a brief dalliance with the modular building market in Brandesburton on his return to Hull from Northumbria University, he was soon up telephone poles and dealing with non-paying customers in a “great grounding” of a graduate traineeship with the then city council owned entity.
Talking to him after unplugging from the Hull comms giant, it is hard to imagine he isn’t hardwired to the business that has consumed almost all of his adult life.
But he wanted to work elsewhere, a new experience and test his own mettle, having removed the copper from the city’s streets in his biggest single achievement.
“My proudest moment, and hopefully legacy, is the roll out of full fibre – we were the first in the UK to do that,” he said, after explaining his surprise departure then rolling back a decade.
“In 2011 I managed to persuade the board that was the right thing to do. That did take some persuading as the rest of the UK – BT – was not doing that. Fibre To The Premises (FTTP) was seen as far too costly, they wanted to do fibre to the cabinet (FTTC).
“Not taking that ‘last mile’ was much cheaper. Although we were challenged, I was sure we should be doing that. That was for the long term, for the business and the region.”
Investment and incredible kudos has followed, and having written the business plan, he was then charged with implementing it. The roll-out hasn’t stopped as it stretches out of the city and even over the Humber Bridge to northern Lincolnshire.
“It is an enabler of everything,” Mr Royce said. “There is a rush now to get gigabit connectivity to everybody by 2025 – it is at 18 per cent of the UK today. It is 100 per cent in Hull and East Yorkshire for premises passed.”
(Image: Leo Francis)
The choice then is the home or business owner – and the past 12 months have underlined the credentials.
“The pandemic has shown just how important that is, it is how we shop, we work, we socialise, we entertain ourselves.
“It was a big decision, with a long payback, but it has helped to transform the region, which is something I’m very passionate about. It is a thriving region, and it brought a lot of good things for people and businesses, it has been mutually beneficial.
“We’re five years ahead of the UK, even now government is racing to get somewhere near that. It is an economic benefit, a regeneration opportunity that enables long term sustainability of business.”
Work with independent consultants back in 2018 found the full fibre investment added half a billion pounds to the economy. “That was economic activity that would never have happened at the time, and with City of Culture and Siemens coming, C4DI emerging too, it gave the city a real platform” Mr Royce said.
“It has been fantastic for the region’s younger businesses, and full fibre underpins all of that.”
Tech is the torch he holds dear, and now wants to lead on in a new business. Not that KCom has held him back.
“I have been in executive roles for 18 years, I was front and centre with the introduction to the London Stock Exchange, when one in four people in Hull bought our shares. They rose spectacularly, the business became a FTSE 100 company, but it was overpriced as all tech stock was then, and the bubble burst very quickly. The paper millionaires disappeared very quickly!”
(Image: Sean Spencer/Hull News & Pictures Ltd)
A stimulus soon after was KIT – Kingston Interactive Television.
“It was designed to push the company on, television and video on demand,” recalled Mr Royce. “We were years and years ahead of anyone in Europe, maybe even the world. BBC, Sky, Blockbuster – all were clamouring to be with us, it was said to be a big reason why the BBC went into Queen’s Gardens.
“When Rupert Murdoch flew into Carr Lane the share price went up by £1. The red button service was born in Hull, designed on our platform with the BBC. Blockbuster were there, but went for DVDs in jiffy bags instead. It was great fun, way ahead of its time, but didn’t have the scale or resources to continue while everyone caught up.”
Mr Royce had joined in 1989, training as an accountant, but with a much wider introduction.
“I was digging up holes and climbing up poles, selling Yellow Pages advertising, dealing with non-payments, and all the time going back to finance,” he recalled.
From reading finance and accounting in Newcastle he went on to become a Fellow of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants. Just before the float he became financial controller, later financial director.
Having seen a former mentee and successor of his in previous roles, Mike Wardell, flourish at Giacom he is now actively talking about what could be.
“KCom is a wonderful company, at the heart of the community, a special unique place and the owners, the board – have got a very good executive team, with exciting plans. I just felt it was time to hand the baton on,” he said.
(Image: Hull News & Pictures)
“I’m looking to run a business in the tech space, use my experience and ability to see if I can be a success.
It is an exciting arena, magnified by circumstance.
“Digital transformation, through the pandemic, has been incredible,” he said. “It has been good for tech companies, we are suddenly three to five years ahead of where many would have strategised for, in 12 months.”
As a director at C4DI, Hull’s tech collaboration space, he “loves to see all of the success stories” – many now will be watching out for his next chapter.
Tag: London Stock Exchange
London Stock Exchange – Exit interview: Sean Royce on THAT fab FTSE listing and the full fibre he fed to the city he loves
