a well-respected builder, this company has established an excellent reputation within the industry for the repair, maintenance, restoration, conversions and extensions of new and historic buildings – and is particularly renowned for its practice of conserving the historic integrity of the building, whatever the materials originally used. Established for more than thirty years, this company carries out all manner of works primarily within the hampshire and dorset areas – areas well known for their historic significance and therefore a prime territory for potential projects - from a single garden wall, a fortification, an extension to a new house or the repair of an old farm building, all of which are taken care of by this business’s extensive team of highly skilled tradesmen. Working both in the domestic and commercial sectors, clients can come from the public or private sectors – with projects sometimes as high as £100,000 plus. This business is a member of both the federation of master builders as well as the citb, is on the approved contractor list for the local county council and other local councils and has worked with english heritage and the preservation trust. The business has won several civic trust awards for its work in the public sector. High quality workmanship and finishing, together with reliability and competitive pricing means the services of this business are always in demand, with many clients considering this business to be ‘their builder’. The company directly employs a workforce of 6 across the full spectrum of trades. All employees are highly skilled and well qualified, to ensure they are capable of completing the tasks in hand. Work comes as a result of strong word of mouth recommendation from numerous contacts amongst architects, charities, church diocese as well as historic organisations such as english heritage – and by no means, least of all from the many projects this business has undertaken, throughout its many successful years of operation. Large enough to cope but small enough to care could easily be the motto of this business. It is careful to manage the expectations of its clients. The company has an excellent reputation for being honest and trustworthy, for its project management, fast response and attention to detail, with any problems dealt with promptly and always to the customer’s satisfaction. With some clients with very large and valuable properties, who appreciate good workmanship and are prepared to pay for it, it is an approach that pays significant dividends with regular on-going work. With a turnover for the financial year ending august 2009 of approximately £360,000 generating pre tax net operating profits of £30,000 after directors’ salaries of £20,000, this is an excellent opportunity to acquire a building contractor operating in a niche conservation sector with a significant, affluent, loyal and on-going client base. Key strengths: specialising in the historic buildings sector, this business is perhaps less susceptible to competition than most building companies – very few have the skills, knowledge and experience to tackle the projects this business is frequently involved in. Furthermore, since owners of historic buildings appreciate the importance of maintaining the historic integrity of a building and the high quality workmanship required to do so, they tend to be more prepared to pay for it. As a result the projects this business is involved – it is ideally located close to areas with high densities of historic buildings - are often very high profile and command slightly better rates than more mainstream work. With many years’ experience in the sector and a proven track record spanning thirty years or more, this business has developed a major network of architects and surveyors, ensuring the business is always near the top of any tender list – leads that are further augmented by the business’s continuous presence on county council’s approved list of suppliers. The business is also taken from practice to practice whenever architects and surveyors move from job to job. This business believes in providing a very high level of service. It has a team of highly skilled tradesmen working to the very highest standards. It has an excellent reputation for honesty and integrity and is highly trusted by its clients – frequently acting as keyholders for them. Such is the level of responsibility felt by staff for the projects on which they work the level of supervision required is far lower than might be expected. And with clients happy to contact staff directly, particularly when they are working locally, management time is further reduced, enabling the principals in the business to concentrate on more pressing business matters. Key opportunities: there is an outstanding opportunity to build on the existing services and customer base of this company. With a strong demand for its services, combined with a capacity to increase turnover, a new owner contributing fresh ideas, motivation, enthusiasm and a little investment in resources will have every advantage of building on an excellent platform. This business maintains an extensive base of satisfied clientele who appreciate excellent workmanship and high levels of service. The vast majority of work however comes from existing relationships including with architects and surveyors and there are many opportunities for further growth from sales to new customers, which the existing company management have had little opportunity to pursue due to current workloads and the limitations of the current management structure. This could easily be addressed by strengthening the second tier of management within the organization and investment in marketing and advertising. Becoming chas registered – an accreditation often requested by some potential clients, would also enable this business to tender for projects which are currently beyond its reach. Perhaps the best opportunity for growth would come from a larger builder acquiring this business as a bolt on opportunity. A combination of the skills inherent in this business, its track record and the opportunities a larger organization might be considered for, would enable the business to expand its area of operation geographically and possibly afford access to larger projects with a significant impact on turnover and profitability. Plant and equipment: the business has all the plant and equipment normally associated with a business of this size and scale including mixers, power tools, ladders and access equipment as well as a small fleet of three vehicles including a crew van. Any specialist requirements are hired in for use on site.
