established in 1978, a well-respected builder, operating in the domestic and commercial sectors, this company has an excellent reputation for being one of the market leaders in the specialist field of fire and flood restoration work. Working from the south coast in a central area all the way up to south london, this business carries out all manner of works including extensions, renovations, refurbishments as well as smaller repair and maintenance jobs which are taken care of by this business’s team of highly skilled, directly employed, tradesmen. Projects have varied from painting and decorating to replacing windows and the installation of kitchens right through to the building of extensions and new houses. 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’. Repeat work comes from an extensive network of architects and surveyors and loss adjusters for fire and flood restoration work. The owners of the business work in project management roles with a team of seven directly employed tradesmen – many of whom are multi-skilled, covering several trades with the business also able to draw on its numerous contacts in the sub-contractors field for more specialist trades - wet trades and electricals, for example. All are highly skilled and well qualified, to ensure they are capable of completing the tasks in hand. 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, involving them as much as possible throughout the length of the project. As a result this company has an excellent reputation for delivering on time and to budget with any problems dealt with promptly and always to the customer’s satisfaction. With turnover for the financial year ending june 2009 slightly in excess of £840,000, generating gross profits of £165,000 and profits available to the owners of the business of almost £60,000, this is an excellent opportunity for an existing building contractor to acquire a well established general builder with a healthy level of turnover and profitability and a particular presence in flood and fire restoration works or for a new entrant into the marketplace to establish a foothold in the sector. Key strengths: this is a very well established business – successfully trading since 1973 and as a limited company since 2004. Nhbc registered, it has an excellent reputation for providing a high level of personal service and good quality workmanship from its teams of mature, well qualified and highly skilled, experienced tradesmen. This business doesn’t just set out to match expectations but to exceed them. All staff are required to be polite and friendly and strive to minimize the upheaval their work is causing the client. This business simply delivers what the customer wants, involving them closely throughout the project to ensure completion on time and on budget. As a result it has a loyal and satisfied customer base which returns time and time again – ensuring this business consistently has a full order book and has work stretching months ahead at any one time. This business is quite diverse in the range of services it provides and prides itself on its ability to adapt to suit the customer’s exact requirements. It has a proven track record in dealing with flood and fire projects – which often generate much higher margins than more mainstream projects. Key opportunities: there is an outstanding opportunity to build on the existing services and customer base of this company. With a strong demand for services combined with a capacity to increase turnover, a new owner contributing fresh ideas, motivation and investment in resources will have every advantage of building on an excellent platform. Certainly the business would benefit from stronger management and tighter financial controls – introducing ‘contractor rates’ to its tradesmen for example, which would undoubtedly significantly impact on turnover and profitability. Whilst the business maintains an extensive base of satisfied clientele who appreciate excellent workmanship and high levels of service, almost all the work comes from existing relationships – particularly from loss adjusters. There are many opportunities for further growth from sales to new customers, which the existing company management has chosen not to pursue as actively as perhaps it might. With additional resources, the business might follow up more assiduously the quotations it makes – additional work that could easily be secured with a little negotiation. This could easily be addressed by strengthening the business through the recruitment of additional contracts/projects managers and additional resources on site. The company has done little or no marketing in the past relying on strong word of mouth recommendations to generate additional business. More assertive marketing and promotion within the appropriate market sectors could secure an even larger slice of the local market and further increase turnover and profitability. Customer service: the owners of the business are ultimately responsible for the quality of the work done. The business is also nhbc registered.
