Last year was particularly successful for Concorde BGW, with the Doncaster-based company winning not one but two prestigious Fit Out Awards. What’s more, the celebrations are set to continue well into 2025 too, as the business marks 35 years of operation.
“The company began as a shopfitting business in 1990 after it was created by Managing Director, Richard Wilson,” explains Sophie Oldfield, Operations Director. “In the beginning we focused primarily on hospitality, but we have evolved our offering ever since, continually expanding in the process.”
As the company grew and turnover steadily increased, Richard took on additional shareholders and won increasingly complex projects with major clients. Development of the business evolved from mainly shopfitting contracts to substantial refurbishment and fit out works, alongside design and build projects.
“We’ve progressed particularly strongly during the past five years, which has probably been our most significant growth period to date, especially in terms of diversification into other sectors, such as FM, regeneration and reactive maintenance,” adds Sophie. “This has helped to counter the challenges that the hospitality industry has encountered during this time. We learned a huge amount from the Covid-19 pandemic, and reflecting back on 2020 it provided us with the opportunity to rethink, replan and broaden the range of sectors we target, especially with regards to Local Authority work. Not having all our eggs in one basket has been a great help as we continue to grow.”
With Richard continuing to lead the business through various changes and challenges, he has helped increase the company’s headcount, turnover and the range of services offered. Concorde BGW has purchased a couple of M&E businesses that link into its main activities, as well as developing its own joinery manufacturing operation and furnishing division.
Throughout Concorde BGWS’s expansion, Richard has remained actively involved in all areas of the business, leading the board and executive team, and mentoring Concordes team to grow into their senior positions. This hands-on approach was recognised at last year’s Fit Out Awards, where Richard was named as Fit Out Leader of the Year.
“It’s fair to say Richard is still getting his head around it, as it was all a bit emotional to be honest,” says Sophie. “Under Richard’s direction the business has created a culture where the team are never afraid to ask for help and are able to continually learn and develop. Our team members know that Richard has faith and confidence in them, so they want to do the very best job they can to reward that trust.”
As a company that is focused on customer service and the quality of its work, the importance Concorde BGW places on its people has been vital, so it has been careful to build its team in-line with its growth. “As a group we’re up to around 170 employees now within Concorde. To put this into perspective, when I started with the company nearly 15 years ago there were just 36 of us. Richard has always put people at the heart of business and has been fully commitment to their development to ensure they meet their potential.”
From a bricks and mortar perspective, supplementing its headquarters in Doncaster, Concorde BGW has other offices in Nottingham and Leicester, as well as a satellite office in London. In addition to the commercial success it has enjoyed, another indication that the company has been able to grow as a business without compromising the quality it provides has been the award recognition it has received. These include last year’s other Fit Out success: winning Project of the Year (Small Office category) award for its work on the Gozney head office, incorporating the Gozney pizza ovens into a flexible workspace for their team.
“Winning the Project of the Year Award is a fabulous stamp of approval that we’re doing a good job within the industry and helps provide prospective clients with reassurance about the quality standards we adhere to,” outlines Sophie. “It’s also great for the team. It can be a very difficult job but there’s also tremendous satisfaction too, so awards of this nature are the cherry on top.”
In terms of what the award-winning project entailed, the development took over the third floor of the former Debenhams building in the centre of Bournemouth and involved the creation of a new head office for Gozney. Designed and built by Concorde BGW, the expansive office features fully glazed meetings rooms, communal break out areas, private pods, a think tank, plenty of desks, and collaborative working areas, team kitchens and its very own kitchen TV studio, as well as the obligatory pizza ovens.
With a double award-winning year behind it, Concorde BGW are looking forward to 2025 with confidence. “There’s definitely more growth on the cards and further acquisitions are a distinct possibility too,” concludes Sophie. “We’re continually adding to our client base, and we have just been added to Leicester City Council’s commercial framework, so we’re hopeful that will bring another work stream too.”
The future certainly looks positive for Concorde BGW and, as the company continues to grow, it will hopefully be able to find the time to celebrate its 35th anniversary and reflect on all it has achieved in the past three and a half decades.