In the year or so since Construction Industry News last caught up with iHus, the Doncaster-based annexe specialist has enjoyed yet more impressive growth. It has also welcomed legendary DJ Tony Blackburn onto the team as an ambassador for the business, further underlining its growing reputation within the marketplace.
“The last 12 months have been pretty phenomenal across all our metrics,” highlights Trevor Smeaton, CEO. “Sales have been performing really well and build output is up 57%. Operating profit is also up, so we’re in a strong position with the order book being full for the rest of the year.”
The positive performance hasn’t come about by accident, as iHus has continued to work hard to provide a quality-led service to its customer base. This has involved ongoing investment in the company’s infrastructure, as Mr Smeaton explains: “We’ve made efficiencies across the organisation and introduced a number of operational changes too, including the recruitment of additional project managers. We have also been approved for ISO 9001 and are now working towards securing ISO 14001, which relates to environmental management.
“It’s vital that we keep striving to improve in all areas of the operation and we are constantly updating the product range too. We’ve got some new offerings that will come to the table in the next few months. One particular focus has been solar, and we’ve been developing products that are much more sustainable.”
Amongst iHus’ growing list of satisfied customers is none other than Tony Blackburn, who was so impressed with the service and the quality of the end product that he offered to become an ambassador for the company. “We’d established a good relationship with Tony after we built an annex for his mother-in-law a number of years ago,” says Mr Smeaton. “He therefore knows all about the service we can provide and the impact our products can have on people’s lives.
“He’s really thrown himself into the ambassador role and has been interviewing our customers at the end of each project, the videos of which we have added to our website and our other channels. It’s been fantastic to have Tony onboard, as he has a great passion for the product and is a firm believer in the approach we take.”
Another of the main factors behind iHus’ success has been its refusal to dilute its offering, with the company focusing purely on granny annexes rather than broadening out into other areas such as home offices. “We know what we’re good at and we want to just keep improving our current range in order to provide the best granny annexes available in the marketplace. We’re in a very positive place at the moment so we want to keep that going.
“We’ve set our targets for the next financial year, which we believe are more than achievable. We’re keen to grow but at the same time careful management will be crucial to our long-term prospects. There’s certainly a great deal of scope to develop the business further.”
Having hit upon such a winning formula, iHus’ desire to keep improving is sure to see further progression for the business in the months and years ahead. progressing and further building its reputation within the marketplace.