our story

In 2000, Kevin resigned from the BBC World Service to set up ShopaweB, a one man website consultancy based in his flat in London.

Translation and interpreting in Chinese was a side-line to him. ‘It didn’t feel like a business’, as Kevin put it.

By this time, Kevin had already established his credential as the lead interpreter of the UK government. He had interpreted for John Major followed by Tony Blair as well as the Queen. Even so, the demand for Chinese language service was still negligible by today’s standards. That was soon to change.

Working at the highest level between the UK and China gave Kevin a rather privileged perspective. In 2004, he realised that the table had turned. China was soon going to be a major player internationally. He predicted that the demand for Chinese language service would approach that between major European languages.

2005 was a busy year. Kevin redesigned his business and rebranded it. KL Communications was born.

Kevin realised that the needs for Chinese was different from other languages. Hiring freelancers on an ad hoc basis like all other agencies was the wrong approach. He would not be able to ensure quality to clients. He decided to build his own in-house team.

Today, KL Communications has the largest team of Chinese interpreters in the private market in Europe.