supplychain
Axor Citterio New Showerpipe From Hansgrohe
Hansgrohe Talis E2 Single Lever Basin Mixer
it has supported us very well. It was expensive initially but it did us a good turn and we managed to get back on our feet again and grow the business. In the 2011/12 financial year we grew from a £7.6m turnover to £12.4m. In 2012/13 we did £13.5m, and profits are also up.”
A wide base of residential developer clients is key to Premier Contract Supplies: “All of our business is with private residential developers – we target the top 20 housebuilders as well as dealing with hundreds of regional housebuilders. We don’t get sidetracked with trade counters and sales to the public, focusing instead on the service we offer, and when we get business with a top 20 housebuilder we tend to keep it and grow it. Nearly all of the product we supply is middle to top end, and most of our growth is with companies like Villeroy & Boch, Hansgrohe, Roca and Majestic.” Having weathered what is hopefully the worst of
the storm, Caldicott is seeing positive indicators for his business and for the housebuilding sector. “We have four branches – Dunfermline, Bury St Edmunds, St Helens and our head office in Farnborough. The signs at the moment are very encouraging and the housebuilding sector is showing significant growth, which is reflected in our turnover. Our biggest clients, such as Crest Nicholson, Berkeley Group, Gladedale Group and Countryside Properties, are all looking very strong, particularly in London and the south-east.” Caldicott confirms what most people will tell you – that London and the south-east are the strongest markets – but he is seeing growth elsewhere too.
“We don’t get sidetracked with
trade counters and sales to the public,
focusing instead on the service we offer, and when we get
business with a top 20 housebuilder we tend to keep it and grow it”
“Most of the apartments schemes we are working on are in London, and they have a very high specification. Most of the housing schemes are in the Home Counties, and though the specification isn’t quite as high they have more bathrooms – so all property types are good business for us,” he says. “Countryside have got a lot of developments coming on stream in the North West area, which is looking very promising for this year. Scotland also seems to be picking up nicely too, after really struggling for the last couple of years.” “Our biggest issue is trying to maintain our margin so that we can continue to invest heavily in people; to ensure that we can secure the best pricing from suppliers, and continue getting involved very early with the design of new developments,” says Caldicott, a self-confessed optimist who is bullish about the future. “Keeping up with pricing is one of our biggest
challenges. We have recently opened an estimating office in Brighton – tripling our estimating team with the expectation of seeing extra business coming through in the next year or two. Opening a branch in the West Country is at the forefront of our plans as we are currently supplying 20 or so sites in that area from Farnborough, which obviously isn’t cost effective. Also, here at Farnborough we are reaching the limit of what we can do, so freeing up greater capacity is a pressing need – one we are grateful to be faced with.” “We are very optimistic about the future. We’ve got good plans in place, some very good customers and a full order book,” he concludes. sh
showhouseMay 2013 | 97
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