Long established and well-respected Landscaping Contractor – with a particular presence in the construction and building development sectors
Ref.EB010 Location SurreyAsking Price £200,000Confidential offered for sale
Finance available to buy this business subject to status. All regulated business is passed to independent financial advisors who are regulated by the FSA | |
Asking price includes:
Consistent annual turnover in excess of £500,000
Gross profits in excess of £60,000
Reputation for quality work at a competitive price, completed on time
Substantial loyal Client base of blue chip builders and developers
Huge opportunities and expansion capabilities
Qualified and highly skilled workforce
Many years of successful operation
Extensive design capabilities
A trusted and respected name
Plant and equipment
Strong Order Book
Goodwill
Website
Vans | Business profile: | Coming up to its centenary and under the stewardship of the current Owner since 1968, this long established company is a thriving multi-skilled Landscape Contracting business, with a particularly well established reputation within the building trade. So much so, that the Client list of this business reads like a ‘Who’s Who’ of the building and construction sector and includes the names of most of the major housebuilders and developers active in the South East. This business has also worked closely with the public sector in the past and in particular several local authorities, for which this business has utilized its extensive experience and expertise in providing tree surveys and tree surgery.
Based in Surrey, with easy access to all areas of the South East via its excellent motorway links this business provides a high quality and extremely competitive service to an extensive Client list, working primarily within a 50 mile radius.
Although this business undertakes the occasional private project, over the many years of its operation this business has gained a unique insight into the specialist requirements of the construction sector, being large enough and flexible enough to deal very effectively with very large scale projects and varying volumes of work. This business is able to meet all requirements, working closely with Clients to design a scheme to meet their brief and budget - it is designing and implementing schemes for Show Houses on an on-going basis, for example - or is equally adept at implementing a scheme to a Client’s own design and specifications. On a much grander scale, this business has frequently been called upon to arrange a complete landscape package for an entire development involving hundreds of homes or a large office block or commercial premises for example – from initial design through to completion of the landscaping. All work is undertaken by fully trained and highly skilled staff, all of whom hold the necessary Construction Skills Certificate Scheme cards and have passed the Construction Industry Training Board Health & Safety Test.
This business also provides an efficient and competitive maintenance service for all types of new and established planting schemes including housing estates, public areas and large gardens.
This business places great emphasis on quality in all things it does and is particularly responsive to Client needs, maintaining a close personal contact with Site Managers and Head Office staff ensuring that even the strictest of deadlines are met, enabling the developer to stay on course with sales projections.
This is a very well run, long established business with an excellent reputation and an extensive repeat Client base. With turnover consistently in excess of £500,000 and gross margins of 30% it represents an excellent investment opportunity for anyone looking to acquire a major player in landscape contracting in the South East.
Key strengths:
Very well established, this business has built an excellent reputation especially within the construction sector for completing high quality works on time and on budget. This business appreciates the difficulties its Clients face when attempting to complete large scale building projects and is structured in a way so as to be able to accommodate their requirements, particularly where changes in schedules are concerned. Not surprisingly therefore this business can boast an extensive base of long standing Clients comprising a number of blue chip builders and property developers.
With a number of other interests, the Owner of this business is very much ‘hands off’ as far as this business is concerned. As a consequence the Owner has deliberately recruited a very strong ‘second’ tier of management for the day to day operation of the business.
Key opportunities:
The UK is set to embark on a significant housebuilding programme in order to meet the huge demand for new housing anticipated over the next decade – with a large proportion of the houses that are to be built likely to be constructed by the current Client base of this business and other developers within its catchment area. This business is ideally placed to take maximum advantage of this anticipated growth. Even at present there is ample opportunity to leverage its excellent track record to establish relationships with a number of other builders and developers which are currently active locally and have not as yet used the services of this business. Opportunities also exist within the Public sector – Local Government work as well as the MOD, all of which have a very strong presence in the area and for which this business has worked extensively in the past, but less so recently, due to the pressure of work coming in from other areas.
There is also considerable scope for this business to expand its work in the private sector. Prior to the current Owner taking a back seat in the running of the business, this company completed many large and medium sized private landscape contracts, mostly designed in-house but often working in conjunction with an architect. There is ample scope to further leverage its design capabilities and proven track record to re-enter this sector, completing private commissions and landscaping projects for the large volume of owners of upmarket homes there are within its catchment area.
Whilst this business has some maintenance work on its books, there is no doubt this is largely under represented within its overall turnover and could be boosted significantly
Plant and equipment:
This business has all the plant and equipment normally associated with a business of this nature including several mowers, rotovators, hedge cutters, strimmers, a fork life and a mini tractor as well as an extensive range of smaller plant and equipment.
The business also has four flat wheel base trucks and a trailer.
A full schedule of plant and equipment is available on request. | Premises:
This business currently operates from a small office of approximately 500 square feet, from which the Owner runs his other business interests and these premises are therefore not part of the sale. In addition the business rents premises of approximately half an acre including a lock up barn for storage of materials, equipment, plants etc. The annual rent is £10,000 with Rates approximately £2,500 per annum.
Location:
The business is currently located in a major town in Surrey offering easy access to all parts of the South East via the A3 and M3 motorways, however this business could very easily be re-located within the local area. | <>Information Technology:
The business runs from proprietary software including a costing system, developed specifically for this business and operates the Sage Accounting package.
Marketing and Advertising:
Well established, this business has little need of advertising benefiting greatly from the most effective form of marketing available, word of mouth recommendation. The details of this business are frequently passed from Project manager to Project Manager and from Surveyor to Surveyor. The business has a small entry in the local Yellow Pages and undertakes the occasional reminder mailing to the major housebuilders.
The business is also in the progress of building a website which could have a considerable impact on the performance of the business, particularly as far as the private sector is concerned. | | | Financial profile: | The business is being offered for sale as a going concern. All financial discussions will take place directly between the vendor and all interested parties under the auspices of Turner Butler.
The business is financially stable and has performed consistently in recent years with turnover in excess of £500,000 and gross margins of 30% +. | Employees:
Although ultimately responsible for the performance of the business, the Owner has very capable management in place which has enabled him to adopt a ‘hands off’ approach. A Contracts Manager is responsible for the day-to-day management of the business supported by almost full time administrative support, together with a team of up to eight highly skilled landscapers. Many of the tradesmen are longstanding employees reflecting the high levels of customer satisfaction they have generated from the projects they have worked on in the past. | Support and Training:
The owners is happy to provide a period of training and handover to ensure a smooth transfer of the business however, operating as he does, very much in a ‘hands off’ role, this would not need to be extensive. | Reason for Sale:
The Owner who is approaching retirement wishes to concentrate on other business interests. | | Turner Butler Disclosure Statement: This statement applies to information relating to any company or other undertaking or business advertised for sale by Turner Butler (a 'Business') The information supplied by Turner Butler on its website or in any other promotional material ('the Information') is not and is not intended to constitute an offer for sale of the Business or any assets of the Business or of the shares of any company which owns the Business. For the avoidance of doubt there is no intention to create a legal relationship which will only come into existence when a written contract for sale and purchase of the shares in or the Business has been entered into The Information provided is not intended to address your particular requirements. Further the Information does not constitute any form of advice recommendation representation endorsement or arrangement by Turner Butler and is not intended to be relied upon in making (or refraining from making) any specific decisions. Any agreements transactions or other arrangements made between you and any client of Turner Butler are at your sole risk and responsibility. The prospective sellers of the Business have provided the Information to Turner Butler. The Information has not been verified by Turner Butler. You must carry out your own due diligence and satisfy yourself as to the accuracy of all matters. In the case of the sale of shares in a Business the Information has been prepared on the basis that the shares will consist of or include more than 50% of the voting shares and that both the seller and the buyer is either a body corporate, a partnership, a single individual or a group of connected individuals so as to fall outside the scope of regulated activities as defined by the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000. If you are considering a transaction which falls within the scope of such regulated activities you cannot do so through Turner Butler. Appropriate professional, legal and accountancy advice should be obtained before making or refraining to make any decision. Turner Butler does not accept any responsibility or liability for loss or damage of any nature that may occur by reliance on the Information. Neither Turner Butler nor any of our employees or agents makes any representation as to the completeness or accuracy of the Information nor do we accept any liability for any losses, costs, liabilities or expenses which may arise directly or indirectly from your use of, or reliance on the Information. This document is governed by and shall be construed in accordance with English Law and any dispute arising in connection with it shall be subject to the non-exclusive jurisdiction of the English courts Turner & Co (GB) Limited registered in England and Wales under company no. 2477988 of registered office Savoy House Savoy Circus London W3 7DA, trading as Turner Butler © Shaun Sweeney October 2006 |
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