When he first took over as director of Severnside Security in 2018, Kane Lewis had only six months of managerial experience. He's since grown and transformed the business into one of the South West’s most successful fire and security businesses.
SoGlos caught up with him to hear more about how he rose to the challenge and helped the company to achieve the thriving business model it has in place today, and what advice he would give to other entrepreneurs.
Tell us a little bit about yourself and Severnside as a business
My name is Kane Lewis and I'm 33; I'm a father, husband and the managing director of Severnside Security.
Since taking over in 2018, the company has grown significantly, expanding to over 60 employees across three regional offices. I was honoured with the SoGlos Young Entrepreneur of the Year award for my role in driving this success.
We operate across the UK delivering fire and security services to commercial, private sector, local government and ultra-high-net-worth clients. Our mission is to create meaningful impact by delivering solutions that make a positive difference in people's lives, every day.
Back in 2024 alone, our achievements spanned:
- 45 per cent increase in revenue
- 37 new employment opportunities
- Maintained 41,000 systems
- £2.3 million invested into local supply chains
- £26,000 committed to social value projects, improving the communities we work in
Can you share a bit about your career path and how you ended up in the role of managing director?
I originally pursued an academic career but decided to shift my focus to the family-run business, which was part-owned by my father and his business partner.
By 2013, the business was struggling to reach its potential. Seeing an opportunity for a fresh start, I took the lead, reincorporated Severnside and introduced a new perspective and business model.
Navigating one challenge after another, I found myself deeply involved in every aspect of the business — operations, sales and engineering. At the same time, the business faced leadership challenges that limited its growth and progression. It quickly became my responsibility to ensure the company’s survival.
In 2018, my father stepped away from the business, leaving me, with little experience, to take full ownership of a company facing financial challenges. But failure was not an option. I committed to transforming Severnside into what it is today.
The only thing that remains from those early days is the company name. Stepping into the role of managing director came through unexpected circumstances but through hard work, a clear vision and an exceptional team, we have built something I am incredibly proud of.
What was the turning point or breakthrough moment in your journey to becoming a business leader?
I get asked quite often, 'what does great leadership look like?' and I used to find that extremely difficult to answer, because I didn’t know.
I didn’t experience great leadership growing up, I didn’t have a mentor or a someone I could look up to. But I knew what bad leadership was, so I have been passionate about being the best version of myself through reflecting and being self-aware of my shadow of influence in the business.
When you are suddenly forced into a leadership position, whereby people are looking to you for the answers, it’s difficult. It wasn’t a breakthrough moment, it wasn’t planned, I was only 25 years old.
I’ve made plenty of mistakes and it’s been tough at times.
People rarely discuss the anxiety that comes with it, and challenges that leaders face in today's world. Through understanding my purpose what it means to be a leader and my vision for the business, I am grounded and motivated every day.
Since you started in 2018, your business has seen tremendous growth, what approach have you taken?
You need to understand your customer and identify what their critical success factors are.
In my opinion, most SMEs cannot operate at a high level across multiple markets with different products or services.
Pre-pandemic, we were focused on ultra-high-net-worth clients, which required complete discretion and high touch customer service. Our team were working closely with a small number of clients, providing a unique approach for each one.
Post-pandemic our business model changed to larger contracts. It is vastly different working in social housing and local government where we look after thousands of properties, providing support to hundreds of thousands of residents. We encounter language barriers, disability considerations, safeguarding issues, our team need to be able to adapt and respond quickly whilst interacting with many different people in a day.
Recognising these differing needs we built new teams, departments and processes to focus on delivering exceptional services across the breadth of clients who rely on us. You cannot have a one size fits all approach.
The biggest part of this approach has been building a motivated team, aligned to Severnside’s values and who want to make a positive difference every day.
I really have one job as the leader of the business, that’s to engender the culture we aspire to and the rest will look after itself.
How did you learn what worked and didn’t work? Was it trial and error, business courses, guidance from other entrepreneurs?
I think you have to be bold, take risks and not be scared to fail — if you don’t fail, you don’t grow but always ensure you mitigate that risk to the best of your ability!
I remember the first really big contract we won. We proposed to work across the south west and when we won the contract it was for the whole of the south of England. I remember thinking: ‘How are we going to deliver this? Should I turn this down?’. I worked with them team and in 24 hours we had a plan. Not only did this establish us across the South, it opened the door to several other large contracts.
I couldn’t have known the snowball effect of that initial decision but it shows that you have to say yes then figure it out afterwards. I’m not telling anyone to be reckless, but if you wait for the right moment, it’s probably too late.
Growth requires action, be prepared to fail but make sure you reflect and understand what's required to be different and to succeed.
Who are the key mentors/influences in your life and how have they shaped your leadership style?
I have just completed my final stage of QuoLux training. QuoLux offer leadership and management programmes, courses and digital tools for leaders, teams and organisations.
Completing the three tiers, — Lead, Gold and Gain — has provided me an enormous amount of experience on how to lead my team for success.
My cohort at QuoLux has become more than group of business contacts, they have become invaluable support mechanisms, a shoulder to cry on, motivators and family of the business.
We also have a non-executive director, Andy Barham — managing director of Premier Kitchens — who sits on our board, along with external support from business leaders and even clients in some cases.
What can people across Gloucestershire expect to see from yourself and the business in the coming years?
We have lots of plans going forward, such as expanding our service offering into electrical and compliance services.
Following on from our successful provision of career opportunities in 2024, we are planning to expand our team and hope to create another 20 positions in 2025/26.
With the continued hard work by the Severnside team, we have a 38 per cent growth forecasted for this year, too.
We will also be delivering more support through social valuation contributions in apprenticeships and community based projects.
