From Corporate World to Personalised Service: The Reef Financial Story
After years of success in the corporate world, where he held a national role at a multi-billion-pound international company, Dave Hurring was eager to return to his roots—helping people navigate life’s milestones through financial planning. When Dave founded Reef Financial Planning, he knew he needed more than just a home office. He shares with us why his office in Capital Space is the perfect place from which to solve his client’s problems.
Improving lives through financial planning
Dave set up Reef Financial Planning when he realised that in his corporate role he was “Getting further and further away from helping people. I wanted to get back to being client-facing and I decided the way to do that was to set up on my own.”
Dave explains that solving his clients’ problems is what drives him: “For me, the client meeting is the single most important thing. It’s about understanding the issue and coming up with a solution. Most people engage with a financial adviser in the first instance because they have a problem to solve. They may not view it as a problem. It could be a life event – very often life events trigger these things. It could be a death in a family, it could be a birth in a family, it could be a marriage, it could be a divorce, it could be positive, negative, but it’s usually a life event of some description that triggers people seeing a financial adviser for the first time.”
During the initial contact, Dave takes time to learn about his clients. “It’s about understanding that situation. I love having conversations with my clients, understanding what the problems are, and then coming up with solutions that best help them. That’s what I enjoy most: helping people.”
The perks of a flexible workspace over a home office
Like many small business owners, Dave initially began working from a home office in his spare bedroom. However, as his client base grew, Dave realised that he needed a more professional environment to meet with clients and manage his expanding business.
About twelve months after starting Reef, Dave moved into Capital Space’s Churchill Square Business Centre. “I took an office in Building 10,” he explains. The decision wasn’t just about finding a physical space. It was about creating the right environment for both him and his clients. “I’m in a relatively big office for one person. I think this is a five or six-person office, but the reason I have it is because I have a dedicated meeting table. So I’ve only ever used the meeting rooms here on a small number of occasions. If there’s something else going on, I’ve got the space right here.”
With most of his clients local to Kings Hill, Dave welcomes Churchill Square’s convenient location, as well as the good transport links and plentiful free parking. Dave says: “It works out perfectly as it’s very convenient.”
Another key benefit Dave has seen from Capital Space is the strong sense of community. “Toni and her team are great, they’re good fun, they know me. It helps being in Building 80 because I walk past reception all the time and see them, and I have a laugh and a joke with them.”
Growing with the community
As Reef Financial Planning continues to grow, Dave is keen to expand his focus on helping SMEs, and with a strong community of commercial organisations in our Kings Hill business centre, he is well-placed to make connections with fellow residents.
As Dave continues to help his clients achieve their financial goals, he remains committed to the personal approach that sets him apart. “I genuinely enjoy taking the time to understand what it is a client is trying to achieve and then putting that in place,” he says. And with Capital Space as his base, Dave is in position to continue making a positive impact in the lives of his clients and the local SME community in Kings Hill.
