Steve Small founded M&S Reprographics in 1991 having worked in the photocopier industry through the eighties - a period which saw it gain a somewhat tarnished reputation. Protecting his own reputation was one of the reasons Steve set up M&S; he was simply unprepared to compromise his customers' trust. The decision has proven the right one. The company has a strong reputation for high quality service and has built an enviable client base, predominantly in the public sector - schools, local authorities, councils and government bodies - as well as some larger corporate customers.

With over 90% of its copiers supplied on rental agreements, the choice of finance partner is a vital one for Steve; matching his commitment to his customers and providing a flexible, friendly approach were key factors.

"A lot of the larger leasing companies aren't really interested in the end user or ourselves for that matter. They're just a vehicle to finance equipment. Whereas Admiral give more flexibility so that we can offer a true rental operating contract rather than a lease - which meets the needs of the public sector. We are then able to downgrade, upgrade or even move equipment into different departments to suit the client's needs. That's down to Admiral's flexibility."

As most public sector buyers just want an operating rental, the machine, term and monthly rentals are tailored by M&S to meet its customers' needs. Admiral's flexible approach allows M&S to come up with the right finance package to suit the Client. Flexibility is an attribute that runs throughout the relationship.

"An example of Admiral's flexibility would be with schools: They are closed for the summer and an invoice may not get paid on time. Other leasing companies wouldn't be as understanding as Admiral are with that aspect of the business. Admiral are very customer friendly which is important for our type of client. Some schools and colleges won't deal with a particular finance company because they've sent threatening letters, or put account on stop during the summer holidays. But Admiral understand this and accommodate them.

The rental agreements themselves, as opposed to more restrictive lease purchase deals, also offer end users the flexibility to change machines, which is becoming more relevant as technology advances at an ever increasing rate. Ten years ago product replacement was every four years, now it's every two. Many Clients look to change machines to work within an I.T. infrastructure on that basis, so after two years of a three year rental agreement they can upgrade. The old machines are then refurbished by M&S and might be placed with another user, such as a primary school, with lower copy volumes.

The public sector can be very demanding upon its suppliers, expecting an immediate response to service and support needs. M&S's commitment to providing the highest levels of service has been key in developing Clients in the sector. Steve naturally expects the same of his suppliers:

"Admiral has the same ethos as us - treat people the way you expect to be treated. People are sick of faceless operations: voicemails and emails. They want to speak to a person. Admiral is very responsive and communicate personally with us if there are any problems. People also like familiarity and Admiral has great staff continuity. The majority of their people have been there since day one. As a result, our day to day business with Admiral runs very smoothly."

A by-product of this successful business relationship, which has seen Steve's confidence and trust in Admiral grow, has also led him to source his company vehicles through Admiral.

"Admiral have been great with the cars - they have all of them now. We get a great fleet deal from Admiral: they were very competitive. Because of our relationship we trust them to give us a good deal and leasing saves us the hassle of trying to sell the cars on. Admiral just take them back and we get new ones."