business success
Family business has the building blocks for success
With some 24 branches stretching from Gillingham in Dorset, through to Abingdon in Oxfordshire and Winchester in Hampshire, independent family-owned builders merchant Sydenhams can boast an impressive reputation
Started in 1874, the business was originally founded as a timber importer and merchant in Poole. Today, although it still imports timber from across the world, Sydenhams now offers a wide range of materials for the building industry and beyond.
Driving the business forward are brothers James and Charles Sherborne, great grandchildren of John Sherborne, who acquired the company in 1920. The pair took over in the mid-90s and have overseen its move into other areas, including the design, manufacture and assembly of timber frame properties; kitchen and bathroom planning and, more recently, tool and plant hire.
This February they added F Knight & Sons in Abingdon to the portfolio, while April saw the addition of A Grade Timber, based in Cricklade, near Swindon.
Joint managing director, James Sherborne, says the strong economy is helping the business to focus on future growth. “With the economy steadily improving and the general election over, we believe the construction industry will stay strong for a number of years, which is good news for us,“ he said.
“We are keen to grow through acquisition and also find new greenfield sites where there is room for another builders merchant. We also want to improve a number of our existing depots, including our large Poole branch, which is in an area earmarked for redevelopment.“
Sherborne says the company takes a long-term view, preferring to reap the rewards of new investments over a five to 10 year time frame, rather than looking for a quick return.
The brothers were brought up with the mantra “don‘t borrow what you can‘t afford“ and the business has funded the majority of its growth in-house.
The exception was in 1999, when they needed additional funding to buy out all the family
shareholders, and Sherborne said: “We looked at other banks, but Barclays was very supportive, they believed in the business and in what we were doing, and in five years we were able to pay them back.“
The relationship between the two organisations goes back almost to day one and today Barclays still provides day-to-day banking facilities, as well as an ongoing loan facility which, although agreed every year, is rarely used. Sherborne says they have a “great relationship“ and commends Barclays‘ proactive approach.
Steve Gritt, Barclays relationship director, said: “Sydenhams is a fantastic family business, they are very good at knowing their market and their client base. That‘s why they have been so good at delivering an excellent service, both through their existing sites and when growing the group.“
Sydenhams‘ customers range from individual homeowners through to small and medium-sized developers – who Sherborne describes as the core customers – and the regional arms of national housebuilders.
“We pride ourselves on being able to provide a larger stock than many of the larger national builders‘ merchants and we combine that with great service and sensible prices,“ he said. “Generally, local builders like to trade with local companies and I believe we punch above our weight in the market.
“There are very few local independent companies left in our business and I think there is a degree of loyalty which keeps customers coming back. They like dealing with someone they know and trust, and who will go the extra mile for them, such as finding a product which is a little bit different.“
He puts much of the company‘s success down to its flat management structure and loyal workforce of around 400 staff, many of whom are themselves second and third generation employees, something which Sherborne says his family are very proud of.
Barclays is a trading name of Barclays Bank PLC and its subsidiaries. Barclays Bank PLC is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority (Financial Services Register No 122702). Registered in England. Registered number is 1026167 with registered office at 1 Churchill Place, London E14 5HP. July 2015.
www.businessmag.co.uk James Sherborne (left) and brother Charles
He continued: “Branch managers report directly to the board, it means they have instant decisions and there is a great deal of respect involved. They effectively run the branches as if they were their own business. I‘ve never been afraid to employ people who can do a job better than me and I think that‘s a really important message for our teams.“
The ongoing need to build more houses, especially in the south of England, is good news for the business and figures just released for the year to end March 2015 show turnover was £56 million – £6m up on the previous year.
With a strong start to this financial year, Sherborne expects to achieve around £62m by the end of March 2016, with more new acquisitions and developments under his belt.
Together, he and his brother Charles have seven children, and looking ahead he is hopeful that at least some of them will join the family business – meaning that Sydenhams looks to be in safe hands for the fifth generation.
Details:
James Sherborne Joint managing director 01202-303585
www.sydenhams.co.uk
Steve Gritt Relationship director 07775-542103
steve.j.gritt@
barclays.com www.barclays.com
The views expressed in this article are the views of the author alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Barclays Bank PLC Group nor should they be taken as statements of policy or intent of the Barclays Bank PLC Group. The Barclays Bank PLC Group takes no responsibility for the veracity of information contained in the third part guides or articles and no warranties or undertakings of any kind, whether express or implied, regarding the accuracy or completeness of the information given. The Barclays Bank PLC Group takes no liability for the impact of any decisions made based on information contained and views expressed.
THE BUSINESS MAGAZINE – THAMES VALLEY – JULY/AUGUST 2015
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