Contractor focus
Surrey-based contractor scales new heights
Surrey-based building services contractor Borahurst was quietly “getting on with the job” of becoming a £10m turnover business, until it hit the headlines earlier this year
was recognised in a new landmark report of ‘1000 Companies to Inspire Britain’ by the London Stock Exchange Group. This listing highlights “exciting and dynamic small and medium-sized enterprises”, which means Borahurst finds itself alongside leading brands like Mulberry, Jack Wills, Aardman Animation, Moonpig, Metro Bank, Addison Lee and Hunter Boots – “Our report showcases some of these fast-growing and dynamic companies; the type of companies we believe will help fuel the long-term growth of the UK economy,” explains London Stock Exchange Group chief executive Xavier Rolet. To make this listing, companies had to demonstrate positive revenue growth over the last four years, an increase in employee numbers, workspace, and contract wins. In other words, Borahurst had a ‘good’ recession despite the extremely tough trading conditions in the construction sector.
These companies are all recog- nised for their entrepreneurial spirit and success, but more than that the research behind the list- ing also focuses on the challenges facing SMEs and looks at the sec- tors and trends that will shape the future of the UK economy.
Publicity
The directors decided to capitalise on this success and sought to expand the business both in proj- ect works and routine mainte- nance and services contracts, they appointed Sue Glynne as business development manager and she thought it might be sensible to tell the outside world about the con- siderable successes the company had enjoyed and use the publicity to attract new customers. Since then the awards have been flooding in – including being named Large Contractor of the Year in the ACR News Awards
12 | September 2014 | HVR
are a number of staff who have worked for Borahurst for many years, which means that much of the company’s work is secured and retained by word of mouth. “Our clients frequently work with the same project managers on numerous projects and we like to think this aids the communica- tion process and the success of the contract” says Andy Hall.
Buoyant Borahurst directors Duncan Jee, Andy Hall and Dave Clarke
Our success is a tribute to how hard everyone has worked over the past 37 years
“We’ve always just got on with things and assumed nobody else was really interested,” says Dave Clarke, one of the three directors of Borahurst – the 37-year-old building services contractor locat- ed in an attractive Edwardian (partly listed) building in Reigate’s picturesque town centre. The company provides design, installation, commissioning and maintenance of building engi- neering services including air conditioning, chillers, ventilation systems, pipework, heating, BMS controls and electrical works. It has the experience and knowhow to operate as principal contractor for end user projects or as part of a team under a main contractor or consultant. With an annual turnover close to £10m, Borahurst is now work- ing for main fit out contractors, blue chip organisations and high- end retail clients – it even has a site office on the roof of one of
London’s landmark department stores. They are extremely diverse and with projects ranging in value from £5,000 to £2million. It has also been a member of the Building & Engineering Services Association (B&ES) since 1979 and also is accredited with Construction Line, CHAS, Reform (F-Gas) and Gas Safe.
Borahurst was founded by Mike Pinnegar, Eric Guest and George Linch in August 1977 and concentrated on local authority contracts, restaurants and special- ist turnkey projects for Mars Confectionary Ltd in Slough. As the work load increased the decision was made to employ an additional project manager and take on an apprentice in the drawings office, this apprentice Andy Hall became a Director in 1995 and was to form part of the successful management buyout team in 1998 when the previous owners decided to retire. Joining forces with colleagues Duncan Jee and Dave Clarke the three have driven the company forward through good and bad times surviving the recent reces- sion with the sole aim to get ‘through the worst’ and retain what was and is a very loyal and hard working team.
Andy, Duncan and Dave had all worked together on a number of projects and ventures prior to teaming up for the MBO, there
The company has recently recruit- ed three new project managers to ease the pressures on the team during what is a very buoyant jobs market. “Project managers and engineers are able to pick and choose at the moment because they are in such demand,” he adds. “We have been right through the process with a number of offers made and contracts about to be signed, when along came a better offer and they were gone.” Whilst all manner of projects are welcome, the directors are also keen to increase the number of ongoing maintenance contracts because of the business continu- ity these provide. Currently service and maintenance work accounts for just 14 per cent of turnover, but there is plenty of scope to expand this, particularly with the company’s established customer base.
The maintenance arm of the business is managed by Caroline Clarke (wife of Dave). She has been with the company for close to 30 years and therefore knows the business inside out. She doubles up as the office manager and keeps the company updated on Twitter and with local business through the Reigate Guild. Borahurst employs its own teams of refrigeration air conditioning, maintenance and ductwork installation engineers and strives to send the same engi- neers to site. The directors believe this builds up confidence and a
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