entrepreneurs 13


David Adams put his back out, then back in to a fresh entrepreneurial business


David Adams left school at 16 to study for an NVQ in landscape gardening. Even for a fit young man it can be back-breaking work – literally, writes John Burbedge


Some years later, a back injury and a friend persuaded Adams to seek less strenuous tasks, using his business brain rather than brawn.


Employment with Guildford plywood distributor Forest Boards led Adams into sales and to directly managing a customer portfolio of his own. “Within five years I was one of the company’s biggest revenue earners.”


Which is when Adams’s entrepreneurial drive really kicked in. “Aged 29, I decided I’d had enough of working for someone else.” In 2010, aged 30, he invested his life savings and reduced his personal outgoings to set up Woking-based Pennyhill Timber from scratch on his own.


“I admit that it was a risk. We were in the middle of recession, but it was something I wanted to do and felt I could be successful at. I am a now type of person and don’t see the point of putting things off.”


The result? This year, Adams expects Pennyhill Timber, now one of the south's leading independent timber merchants, to turnover nearly £6 million. And, he was personally named as the Young Entrepreneur of the Year in the recent competition staged by accountants Haines Watts.


“We have grown as a company quicker than I expected, but I never had any doubts that I would make it work.”


In the early days, to keep overheads low, Adams did everything – from sales to forklift driving, finances to marketing, timber purchasing to European import administration.


“I was working 70 hours a week, but my partner Dawn was very supportive, and recognised it was what I needed to do.”


“Most business owners will probably acknowledge that personal sacrifices have to be made when starting a new company.”


Events in 2012 – birth of his first child, “the business virtually doubling in size overnight”, work required on his rental properties – convinced Adams to boost staffing and resources.


Today, Pennyhill Timber runs efficiently on eight talented hard-working team


THE BUSINESS MAGAZINE – THAMES VALLEY – JULY/AUGUST 2015 www.businessmag.co.uk


members, and Adams is planning to upgrade its administration software systems and put fresh investment into plant and machinery.


One reason Adams set out on his own was not dissatisfaction with his previous employer, where he had learned valuable business management skills, but his desire to explore wider markets for timber.


Astutely, Adams has established Pennyhill Timber in the B2B and B2C markets, supplying both timber in wholesale to contract businesses across the UK, and break-bulk volumes to building contractors, landscaping, and the DIY market.


To meet market demand, Adams has also now set up the web-based subsidiary company www.sleepersandecking.co.uk, which now supplies up to 5,000 wooden sleepers per month, offered in a very broad selection of sizes and colours, to the landscaping sector.


“Supplying several different markets has been the making of us.”


Last year Pennyhill Timber supplied over 24,000 cubic metres of softwood and sheet materials to hundreds of repeat customers across the UK.


“What we do is relatively simple, but we like to think we do it quite well. It’s all about customer service in today’s market, and that’s what we focus on – offering product choice, on-time delivery, and being flexible to customer requirements.”


And, Adams could have mentioned price. By purchasing its stock in large bulk, Pennyhill Timber has gained direct access to some of the largest sawmill groups in Scandinavia, the Baltic regions, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland and the UK – enabling lower cost purchasing benefits to be passed on to customers.


“We take in 50-60 lorry loads of stock every month, far more than most of our competitors, which ensures our stock range is very comprehensive.


“We are not now looking for the same rapid growth that we experienced at the start, but for improvements to our operations, service offering and our bottom-line profitability.”


The success of Pennyhill Timber has been based on Adams’s business model of cost, choice and customer satisfaction, plus a strategy of flexible diverse expansion to meet market needs.


All, in fact, highlighting the Haines Watts judges requirements for a winner: innovation and entrepreneurial flair; ability to grasp business finances; creativity; business potential; attention to detail; future planning.


Now 36, Adams just crept under the age limit for entries to the annual Haines Watts competition, which seeks to find “young Thames Valley business people with a great concept, a sound business philosophy and a solid plan for the future – plus, of course, that ‘X’ factor.”


As overall winner, Adams gained a £750 award and is receiving a year’s free mentoring from an experienced Haines Watts partner and publicised recognition as the 2014 Young Entrepreneur of the Year. Regional winners – Adams represented the Farnborough area – also each received £250.


Details: www.pennyhilltimber.co.uk


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