Mitchell Feldman, co-founder of The Internet Group, explains why withdrawing from the property sector was one of the shrewdest decisions he ever made.

Mitchell Feldman, co-founder of The Internet Group, explains why withdrawing from the property sector was one of the shrewdest decisions he ever made.

When The Internet Group was set up in 1999, supplying IT services to property companies made up a quarter of our business.

However, in February 2008 I felt the property market was showing signs of instability. It’s always risky withdrawing from a sector you are strong in, but I decided to stop proactively recruiting property companies and instead cast our net a little further afield to businesses that were more IT-driven, such as accountancy practices.

A few months later the housing market collapsed and left a blistering trail of destruction. Several of our former clients were hit hard and many went out of business. Now, property forms just 7 per cent of our client base, less than half what it was, while our headcount has doubled to over 60 and I think it would be fair to say that the company is flourishing.