London Hub – Meet the team

At Vital Consular, we’re thrilled to be announcing the opening of our London Hub!

We know that document legalisation is confusing. There’s so much to get right, so much that could go wrong. Different embassies have different processes. Different documents have different requirements. You need to know exactly what you need to do, and if you don’t you’ll more than likely end up making a costly mistake.

Really, you could do with a guide. Someone who knows what they’re doing to talk you through it, help you with it. Someone to take all the pressure off of you. That’s what the London Hub is all about. We’re adding a bunch of friendly, approachable faces to the (otherwise quite dry) world of legalisation. Let’s meet them.

Meet the team

A few months back, I went down to London to meet them myself. Excited as I was, I was also a bit nervous. I’m a pretty shy guy. What if they didn’t like me? What if I introduced myself as Reclan Damsden? What if I walked in with toilet paper stuck to my shoe and everyone started pointing and sniggering? I was haunted by the thought as my train rattled into King’s Cross.

‘Cos meeting new people’s a bit intimidating, isn’t it? You never really know what to expect. But when I got to the London Hub and met Paul, Nils and Neil, I actually felt guilty for my doubts. I did them dirty. What a cracking bunch of people.

Paul

Job Role? – Office Manager
Where are you from? – Epsom
How long have you worked for Vital? – About 4 and a half years
What do you like about working at Vital? – Everyone at the company is really friendly

As Office Manager, Paul keeps things ticking. I’d say he’s in charge, but Nils would respectfully disagree. An expert on legalisation, Paul’s been dealing with documents for years.

Paul’s football mad – he’s a season ticket holder at AFC Wimbledon (not to be confused with MK Dons). A typical weekend for Paul, during the football season, is spent down at Plough Lane. A typical midweek for Paul, during the football season, is also spent down at Plough Lane. When the season’s over you can find him stood dejectedly outside Plough Lane, checking his watch every now and again.

No, I’m kidding. Paul’s wife’s just got an allotment, so he’s been spending a lot of his time there recently. He just turns up with a spade and does whatever the boss tells him to do. They’ve got two kids – a son who’s working at Sainsbury’s, and a daughter who’s currently in Brighton doing a Biomedical Science degree. They’ve also got two dogs – a Cocker Spaniel and a Golden Retriever.

Interest-wise, Paul’s into 80s music (his favourite song’s Vienna by Ultravox) and he loves Only Fools and Horses. He’s also into European military history, and he told me that his grandad landed on the beaches of Normandy on D-Day. How amazing is that? What a hero.

He’s just a really, really nice guy. Finally, and don’t tell him I said this, he reminded me a bit of a massive teddy bear and he looks like he’d give really good hugs.

Nils

Job Role? – Legalisation Advisor
Where are you from? – Enfield
How long have you worked for Vital? – Since day one of the London office (so about 6 and a half years)
What do you like about working at Vital? – It’s a lovely company full of lovely people

Nils is one of our expert Legalisation Advisors. She handles documents all day every day, preparing them for legalisation.

Nils loves to travel and explore. She’s got Indian heritage (she speaks Gujarati!) and she’s got family all over the globe. She’s got particular soft spots for Barcelona, New York and Mumbai. Barcelona’s beautiful, New York’s ‘a vibe’, and Mumbai’s got a nice hustle and bustle with incredible street food. It must be nice, ‘cos Nils said it’s worth the risk of a stomach bug. But she’s a massive foodie – Lebanese and Indian cuisine are her favourites.

A typical weekend for Nils is spent with friends and family, probably going out for meals (and then working off said meals in the gym). She’s into home décor and interior design, and her favourite TV show’s also Only Fools and Horses. Music-wise, she’s into all sorts; Adele, Justin Bieber, Madonna, Rihanna and, much to Paul’s dismay, jazz.

On her lunches, Nils always goes for a little wander. There’s plenty to do near Vital’s London Hub, but Nils’ favourite place to go is Covent Garden – it’s only a 10/15 minute walk. I went with her – it’s a lovely place. Very sophisticated and artsy. There was a woman singing opera and the place was buzzing with life. It’s easy to see why Nils loves it so much.

Nils is proper lovely. She’s so friendly and welcoming, and it was a pleasure getting to know her. She’s the queen of the London office (and, she assured me, Paul is not the king).

Neil

Job Role? – Document runner
Where are you from? – Sheffield
How long have you worked for Vital? – 4/5 years
What do you like about working at Vital? – It’s a chilled out place to work, and every day’s different in London

Vital’s (long) legs, Neil’s the runner. You’ll most often find him striding around London, taking documents to the relevant embassies.

Neil loves his music. When I was out and about with him, it was the main thing we spoke about. If you’d find it in the classics section of a vinyl store, we enthused about it; AC/DC, Radiohead, Led Zep, The Rolling Stones, Black Sabbath. He loves his classic rock – then again, he is the guitarist of a band that covers rock classics. I’ve looked them up on Youtube, they’re proper good – have a listen yourself. Neil’s the guitarist with the black cap on, shredding everyone’s faces off with some filthy solos.

Neil’s up there with the coolest people I’ve ever met. Bit of a Mick Fleetwood vibe about him. He spends the majority of his time away from the office, taking documents to the embassies and the FCDO, so you won’t see him at the London Hub as often as Paul or Nils, but if you do, be sure to say hello.

And that’s the London team! Why not come and meet the team for yourself? It’s hard to capture someone’s personality in 2 or 3 short paragraphs, and I really haven’t done them justice.

How can the team help you?

If you need any help with document legalisation, just get in touch. We’re experts in:

• Apostilles
• UK & International document legalisation
• Company and commercial documents
• Translations
• Deed polls & certificate replacements

And we offer a 100% Acceptance Guarantee on any documents we process, so you have complete peace of mind. Come visit us, drop your documents off, have a nice cuppa with some biscuits and go on your merry way. We’ll let you know when they’re ready, and you can come back and collect them.

Or, why not take advantage of our local Collection & Drop Off service! We’ll come to you and collect your documents, do our thing, and bring them back to you ready to go. Just get in touch and we’ll see how we can help.

Think of our London Hub as your one-stop-shop for all your legalisation needs. Confused about the process? Book a one-to-one call with Nils or Paul and have all your questions answered. Need documents legalising? Just pop down and drop them off (or get us to come to you). We’re (literally) a 2 minute walk from Blackfriars Station, at Tallis House. Don’t stress about document legalisation – just give Vital Consular a shout, and we’ll take care of it for you.