In order to contact the buyer/seller, you must be a registered user of the site and must be logged in

a well-respected builder, this company has established an excellent reputation based upon nearly forty years of successful trading. Now managed by the second generation of the family, this very successful company is best known for its high class refurbishment works and the new build projects it carries out predominantly within a thirty to forty mile radius of its west sussex head office.  

working predominantly for private clients, but also including commercial and educational projects, this business always works as the main contractor, with its opportunities generated by an excellent network of architects and surveyors, with whom this business has built strong relationships based on its ability to complete projects on time, on budget and to a very high standard of workmanship. Operating in a catchment area which contains residents included amongst some of the highest net worth individuals in the country, this business works on some highly prestigious projects with average contract values in the region of £1 million. Turnover, which has increased steadily over the past five years, broadly speaking is split between, domestic projects which represent approximately 60% of total turnover with the remainder made up of commercial work - with new build, alterations and refurbishment work and listed building projects roughly equally represented.    

manufacturing almost exclusively for the requirements of its own building projects, the joinery division produces an equally high standard of workmanship for internal and external works including purpose made windows, doors and staircases right through to complete kitchens, conservatories and furniture – even pergolas, all produced to particular client specifications.

this business is a member of the national federation of builders, the british woodworking federation and nhbc. Aside of managerial positions the company employs a workforce of approximately 25 directly employed staff across the full spectrum of trades. High quality workmanship and finishing, together with reliability and competitive pricing means the services of this business are always in demand with many professional clients – architects and surveyors considering this business to be their preferred resource. Repeat work is such that this business has had little need to look outside its existing customer base for several years now.

with a turnover for the financial year ending june 2010 of £4.6m, generating gross profits in excess of £500,000 and pre-tax net operating profits after directors remunerations of approximately £120,000, this is an excellent opportunity to acquire a main building contractor with a specialist joinery division and a significant, loyal and on-going client base.

key strengths:

operating for almost forty years, this is a very well established local business enjoying high levels of awareness amongst its key target audiences right across its fairly limited geographical catchment area. It is renowned for its high quality workmanship and its highly skilled workforce of loyal, well trained craftsmen.

large enough to cope but small enough to care could easily be the motto of this business. It strives to give all parties involved in a project – the customer, the architect and the contract surveyor - a good experience. It believes in providing a high level of personal, customer service with directly employed site agents  appointed for the entire duration of a project, and is careful to manage the expectations of its clients, frequently turning down projects if it feels it cannot complete them satisfactorily. It has an excellent reputation for project management, fast response and attention to detail and has the experience to develop solutions to deal with any problems that come up in the duration of a project. Working on a ‘no shocks’ basis with its clients the business is always upfront on cost or time overruns with excellent systems and processes in place to ensure that all parties are aware of variations at the earliest stages they occur.  as a result the business has retentions significantly lower than the industry average. 

the growth of this business has been based on excellent financial footings which has enabled it to fund larger contracts without significant recourse to external finance. With prompt payments to its suppliers guaranteeing a tried and trusted supply chain and high levels of supplier support – projects are consistently delivered within budget and perhaps more importantly on time. Not surprisingly the business has a solid, loyal client base – and is frequently taken from client to client by its contacts, as they themselves move jobs. And with successfully completed projects always generating more work, this business is frequently in the excellent position of receiving more work enquiries than it is capable of dealing with.

key opportunities:

with an enviable reputation and renowned for always meeting if not exceeding client expectations, there is an outstanding opportunity to build on the existing products, services and customer base of this company. With strong demand, combined with a capacity to increase turnover a new owner contributing fresh ideas, motivation, enthusiasm nd a little investment will have every advantage of building on an excellent platform.

frequently working to capacity and currently receiving more work enquiries than it can cope with, a new owner would generate a very healthy return on investment simply by farming the existing customer base. However with additional resources in place, a more pro-active approach to marketing to widen the existing customer base of surveyors and architects practices, would certainly impact on turnover and profitability and within the joinery division specifically, there is also scope to extend the business’s services to external companies.

In order to contact the buyer/seller, you must be a registered user of the site and must be logged in