Design Installation Service & Maintenance Of Fire Protection For Sale

Business description

Design, Installation, Service & Maintenance
of Fire Protection Systems

Established almost forty years ago and based in the heart of Sussex, this business is one of the area’s leading contracts, installation, service and maintenance businesses operating in the fire protection industry.

An NICEIC, BAFA and ECA approved contractor, this business designs, installs, maintains and provides 24 hour emergency call-out for all kinds of properties, ranging from small guest houses, hotels through to schools and colleges but it is within the transport sector where this business is perhaps best known having developed a particular expertise in the specialist requirements of transport hubs, working either with the main contractor or directly for Clients which includes some of the biggest transport operating companies in the UK. Such is the demand for its services that electrical contracting, which for many years was a vital contributor to the overall turnover and profitability of the business, now very much takes a back seat to its fire protection work.

Mainly covering the south east corner of England, with a fleet of vans and a team of highly qualified and experienced installation/service engineers, this business provides the full range of fire protection and security services including fire detection systems, fire extinguishers, emergency lighting systems and CCTV systems installing all types of fire alarm – conventional and fully addressable, designed to meet detailed customer specifications and built to the latest British Standards.This is a full service business – providing full documentation throughout the contract including site surveys, Method Statements, Risk Assessments, drawings and full certification for all projects. And having been involved in the design and installation process and by generating high levels of customer satisfaction with engineers on call 24/7, 52 weeks per year, this business invariably picks up the service and maintenance contracts. So much so that service and maintenance income represents a signifcant proportion of overall turnover. Even more lucrative.is the income from breakdowns and call-outs, with this business attending 400 incidents on average each year.

With a loyal, repeat customer base, this business has performed consistently well in recent years with annual turnover in excess of £800,000 per annum. With turnover for the financial year ending September 2008 of approximately £810,000 generating gross profits of £384,000 and pre-tax net operating profits of £136,700 excluding Directors’ remunerations approximating to £100,000 – with Service income of approximately £176,000 per annum, this represents an excellent opportunity for an existing operator to extend their penetration into the fire protection sector or for a new entrant to acquire a very well established business with an excellent reputation and significant growth and expansion prospects.

Key strengths:

This is a very well established business. Having been in operation for nearly forty years it benenfits from very high levels of awareness across the industry and an excellent reputation for personal customer service. The business operates a call – out service 24/7 and Clients have access to senior management at all times. Staff are loyal, very well trained, highly experienced and knowledgeable about the systems that have been installed at their customers’ premises. The business is particularly well known within the transport sector where it has an extremely strong Client base.

Very simply this business is very good at what it does. It constantly tracks its own customer satisfaction and consistently achieves very high scores. As a result this business frequently picks up the service and maintenance contract following installation. In most recent years this business has predictable service income in excess of £175,000 and additional repeat work through system extensions and upgrades. Not surprisingly this business enjoys very high customer loyalty, strong word of mouth recommendations and in the rare event a customer tries elsewhere, more often than not they come back.

Key opportunities:

There is an outstanding opportunity to build on the existing services and customer base of this company. With a strong demand for its products and services combined with a capacity to increase turnover, a new owner contributing fresh ideas and investment in resources, particularly in relation to sales and marketing, will have every advantage of building on an excellent platform.

The maximum benefit from an acquisition of this business will accrue to an existing operator within the fire protection services sector by maximising economies of scale and absorbing the customer base and its service and maintenance requirements within its existing infrastructure.

Having been established for so long, the current Owners have little need for significant investment in sales and marketing. Investment in sales resources – to date the current Owners have undertaken all sales efforts - and a new website would have a significant impact on turnover and profitability. Having recently achieved BAFA registration the expectation is that this will significantly increase the number of leads available to the business alongside the requests it continuously receives to tender for contracts from existing and ex-customers.

Customer Service:

The business considers that happy customers come back and on that simple basis has maintained levels of product and service quality intended to best guarantee that happiness. The results of this commitment are evident in the degree of repeat custom this business enjoys and the excellent reputation this business has throughout the industry.

Financial Information:

The business is 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.

Sales revenue has been reasonably consistent in recent years. Turnover for the financial year ending September 2008 was approximately £810,000 generating a gross profit of almost £385,000 and pre-tax net operating profits of £136,000 after Directors’ remunerations of approximately £100,000.

The Asking Price of £750,000 is for a sale of the shares in the business based on a Balance Sheet value of £287,000 including a revaluation of the property.

Property information

Property:

Leasehold

Lease terms:

The site was acquired by the current Owners on behalf of the business on a 999 year lease in 1995 and is currently conservatively valued at approximately £175,000. Rates and Service Charges are approximately £4,700 per annum.

Location:

Occupying approximately 800 square feet of premises given over to office accommodation and storage with additional storage afforded by a balcony, this business is based on a small, modern business park, ideally situated just a few minutes drive from the M25 and other major motorways offering easy access to central London and throughout the South East. The business also uses a small yard adjacent to the rear exit of the offices for storage of scaffolding towers etc.

The site was acquired by the current Owners on behalf of the business on a 999 year lease in 1995 and is currently conservatively valued at approximately £175,000. Rates and Service Charges are approximately £4,700 per annum.

Two car parking spaces are included on the site with additional car parking available on a first come, first served basis.

Other information

Competition / Market:

This business has a constant presence in the editions of Yellow Pages that cover its main areas of operation as well as featuring on yell.com. It has a very well designed, informative and easy to navigate web-site which performs well in all the major search engines for all the appropriate search topics. There is no doubt however that a high proportion of the business's revenue has been due to its excellent reputation for quality and service and strong word of mouth recommendations generating high levels of first time enquiries and significant repeat custom.

Support & training:

The Owners will provide full business familiarisation, training and handover to ensure a smooth transfer of the business.

Reasons for selling:

This is a genuine retirement sale.