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The NSBRC celebrates ten years this year – why is the anniversary so special for your team ?
I ’ s special because we almost didn ’ t make it . The brand was established in 2007 , founded by BuildStore who were , and are , market leaders for self-build mortgage products . However the concept never paid for itself and this came to a head in June 2014 .
What happened ? We turned up for work one day – I was general manager at the time – and there was a chain on the door . We were evicted from the building . The landlord was fed up as we had not paid the full level of rent and this plunged us into very dark days .
What did you do ? My first task was to put the old company into administration and make the whole team , then about 24 people , redundant . The credit crunch had simply got the better of the business at that time .
We were all out of a job . I told the team there was a small hope , but I needed help for the next three months to try to sort things out . I asked if any team members would be willing to keep the place open – with no guarantee the plan would work and no guarantee anyone would be paid . We had no money . Five hands went up . Today those five are all direct shareholders .
What was your plan ? To seize on the one glimmer of light we could see . We identified an investor – Capital for Colleagues , a specialist investment company which will only invest in companies converting to become employee owned . They invest in companies with high growth potential and employee ownership is proven to be a more successful business model . It ’ s known this is more likely to create success as the team all have a genuine say in how the business is run and they all care about the business . Probably the most well known brands doing this are John Lewis & Waitrose .
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How did you deal with an angry landlord ?
We approached the landlord honestly and told them we were planning a new way of doing things and our investors would put £ 250,000 into the business – which would now be called The Homebuilding Centre Limited . After some consideration they gave us a new 15-year lease with some very tight restrictions for the first two years . We honoured those restrictions . Now they are fully on board and are impressed with our vision and drive .
How is the business set up now ?
We are an employee-owned business – 37.5 per cent of the shares are owned by that original core team , 37.5 per cent are in an employee-owned trust . Everyone has a say and the responsibility and the success are shared . Currently we have a team of 11 and we are also recruiting for a couple of roles .
What key things did you do to survive ?
To move towards profitability we created a business plan as a collective with a three-year vision . We identified some goals and each member had responsibility for a goal . Our top three were :
1 . To understand our financial figures – be open & transparent both internally and externally . 2 . To grow footfall – and create a wider marketing plan . 3 . To diversify the business – one example was to improve our conference offering .
How has it gone ? It ’ s been a journey but we ’ ve done so well . Last year 16,349 individual self-builders came to the centre . We also invested in new projectors , new tables , great WiFi to improve our conferencing and workshop facilities . Revenue from this increased by 75 per cent in 2016 when we welcomed 10,266 conference delegates . We ’ re regularly profitable now .
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What can you offer businesses ?
For smaller businesses & micro traders we have an easily accessible informal meeting place with a café , loads of free parking and WiFi – we want to be the small business hub in an excellent and convenient location .
We also offer conference and workshop facilities . The main theatre can hold 240 delegates and we have meeting rooms from 20 to 40 and then smaller ones for six to 12 people .
What ’ s next ? We need more space for our exhibition stands , which we are thrilled about . Our landlords are supporting this and we are planning a new mezzanine floor .
We are also going to be installing electric car charging points before our next large event The Big Green Home Show in October .
We ’ re also raising money for a Swindon charity which supports the homeless – Threshold – and we ’ ve set ourselves a target of £ 2,000 . We felt this charity aligned with our ethics around having a home .
Your proudest moment so far ?
There have been many . But it was amazing to tell our story to the judging panel at the recent Wiltshire Business Awards ( Newsquest ) and to win Small Business of the Year . We ’ re proud of how far we ’ ve come – but it was humbling to see others recognise our journey .
And what do you do out of work ?
I live in Old Town and spend time with my six year old son . I enjoy running and you ’ ll often see me on the railway path from Old Town , through to Rushy Platt in Swindon . I recently ran the London Marathon for the second time in my life – the first was ten years ago . I ran for Threshold in under four hours , so I was very pleased with that achievement .
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For more info : www . nsbrc . co . uk
@ NSBRC
0345 223 4455
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