This month we celebrate our 21st Birthday …
And we are so very grateful.
21 years in business, however just a few weeks in 2020 the pandemic could easily have spelled the end of operations for PH Production Services Ltd.
March 23rd 2020 was a life changing moment for many people who make their living in the event industry. This may sound a little dramatic, but lockdown brought an immediate halt to their activities and income for many companies and freelancers came to a full stop! to put it in theatrical terms, the lights simply went out.
A recent Professional Light and Sound Association(PLASA) survey found that 64% of freelancers had to find work in other sectors. Many companies called it a day and auction sites were packed with insolvency sales. Over 50% of freelancers have not returned to the industry.
For a couple of weeks the office phones rang regularly with clients cancelling work with immediate effect and for the foreseeable future. It was a worrying time. However we did not panic but got on with many maintenance propjects that had been outstanding for a while. We also had a good look at our operating costs and what it took to keep us afloat. We probably had about four months to survive with the money we had in the bank. We decided not to make any changes but to prepare for the end of the pandemic, more than a little naively at the time.
Within a few weeks we had existing and potential new clients enquiring about our live streaming services and companies looking for new ways to keep connected with their customers and clients, there was a glimmer of light in the darkness.
Soon we were as busy as ever with online, digital solutions which previously had been about 15% of our turnover. It was now all we were doing. We decided to invest to keep up with demand and although we had no work for 6 weeks of the financial year 2020/21 turnover was 10% The current financial year has delivered a 60% increase.
On the 1st March PH Production Services Ltd turned 21 and to celebrate the fact we are still here and thriving we commissioned local artistes Emily Galvin and John Macleod, collectively known as Rose and Cloud to write words and music for a video we were producing as a way of showing thanks and gratitude to all our clients and partner companies who have travelled this journey with us. We are also very grateful to all the freelancers who have supported us over this period and in the 21 years of supporting artistes and producers.
Cast and Global Rainbow photo courtesy of Cast Doncaster and Ben Harrison (Photographer)
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