LDC Top 50 2021

“We help people to communicate in challenging situations such as interpreting on behalf of the parents of a child that is being taken into hospital.” When Matthew Taylor joined Manchester-based interpreting firm DA Languages, he found a business that deals with 450 languages at six levels of security clearance.

He quickly identified an opportunity to improve the technology capabilities of the business and in the past three years, has spearheaded a move to 90pc remote interpreting. He adds: “The way we match our 7,000 linguists to work is becoming more intelligent. We want to become the biggest interpreting business in the UK.”

Q&A

What are your ambitions for this business?

Some companies in this space have been going 25 years and are turning over £500m. Could we compete with them? In five years, we could. We want to become the biggest interpreting business in the UK.

Tell me about the digital transformation you have achieved?

We’ve gone from one developer working in a bedroom to 25 people spread around the UK. The way we match our 7,000 linguists to work is becoming more intelligent. The system matches the work to the person with the right qualifications, checking they are not booked elsewhere and ensuring they don’t have to travel too far – all in under 30 seconds. We’ve massively upgraded all our IT with significant investment.

How did you get involved with DA Languages?

I spent nearly five years at a big language company in Yorkshire. I was contacted about the role even though I’d never been a Managing Director before, and thought, ‘What an amazing opportunity’. I met the entrepreneur behind the business, got a flat in Manchester and we were off.