PRINTITRESELLER.UK 29 from home more and almost in silos, but at the same time, there’s a lot more collaborative working. It’s up to companies like us to enable that and put the tools in place for people to do it. COVID was the catalyst for this, we’ve been beating the drum of digital transformation for years, customers resisted it and then they were forced to do it, and they went this is good, we should do more of this. Looking forwards, AI is obviously going to be the next big thing, just as video calls has been the thing for probably the last five years. In workplace tech, AI is going to dominate in some capacity. But AI aside, I would say it’s more evolution than revolution. I don’t think there’s anything on the roadmap services in the whole of the country. We offer standard stuff like managed IT services, print services and so on, all the way through to PDI and logistics, circular economy and secure disposal all under one roof, all with our own team. The second thing I would say is that we operate businesses that work directly with customers and also for the channel. We’re trusted by some of the biggest names in UK tech to provide services on their behalf and having operated our own direct operation for 30 odd years, we know what these people want, they can trust us, because when we turn up to site, we have their same ethos, we know what works. Being able to operate both businesses in tandem, works really well, but the innovation for us has really come from a pricing model. So, for years, you would have been given the option of a one, three or five year service wrap or warranty product, which you have to pay for upfront in full. This means that the cashflow of your deal is impacted significantly, your service team is in the red from day one and has to claw its way out month by month. We thought there’s got to be a better way of doing this and we’re really proud to launch our flexible pricing structure. You can add devices on, take devices off, month by month, but the key thing is that we charge you for these things monthly, rather than up front. And we think that all of these bits together bring a genuine, tangible difference to FUTERA offering these services. MR: How has technology evolved and transformed the business landscape over time, and what emerging trends do you think will shape the future in the coming years? LM: We’ve seen a lot of tech change, right? And I think we’re in this weird mix at the moment between disparate working, where everybody’s working Michelle Ryder (MR): FUTERA is a new name in the market, but it’s absolutely not a new company, you have in fact got a four-decades-long heritage, Let’s start with a summary of the journey to date. Lee Manning (LM): FUTERA was born in February 2025, but as you say, we have operated numerous companies under different brands for nearly 40 years. All of our companies really worked in silos before, but the marketplace now wants more than this. We had brilliant foundations with the businesses that we had and excellent reputations, not only with our customers, but within the marketplace too. So, we thought the time is now, let’s launch this business and at the same time, we also became employee-owned. MR: The employee-owned bit is something I’m keen to explore further. It is quite unusual, particularly in our industry. So how does it work? And what are the benefits to both your own people and your customers? LM: It is unusual. We are the only business in the MPS arena and one of a couple of IT services businesses in the country that are employee-owned. There are about 350 businesses in the UK that are employee-owned – John Lewis being the most famous one. Although the theory behind it is quite well-established, uptake has been fairly slow. But for us, we found it a bit of a game-changer. We’ve seen a positive, nuanced behavioural change in our staff. It’s built this brilliant, positive culture. MR: FUTERA is a channel services business, how do you differentiate in the market, and what innovative approaches are you taking to deliver your services? LM: We’ve now built a business where we think we have the widest range of tech In an exclusive interview, Lee Manning, CEO, FUTERA speaks to Michelle Ryder about the company’s four‑decades-long heritage, its recent rebrand to FUTERA and its evolution into a modern channel services business. He also talks about how technology has evolved and transformed the business landscape over time and explores some emerging trends including AI, that he believes will shape the future in the coming years. Here’s an excerpt of the conversation One-to-one with Lee Manning ONE-TO-ONE continued... Lee Manning
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