好色先生TV

Fit-out specialist Margolis will enter a new era this summer as managing director Geoff Andrew completes a management buy-in of the century-old family firm.

Since joining, Andrew has helped increase turnover at the company 448% in five years, up from 拢4.17m in 2006-7 to a projected turnover of 拢18.7m last year. He set up the management buy-in in 2007 and is now targeting work from Chinese firms setting up in London.

Margolis鈥� profit also rose by two thirds last year, from 拢350,000 in 2009-10 to a projected 拢900,000 in the year to 31 May.

The firm will continue using the Margolis name for at least the short to medium term, when the family pass the ownership on to his team, Andrew says.

Margolis offers commercial fit-out across the country, but focuses on contracts in the City and West End of London.

The market is moving away from opulent aesthetics to more functional design

Geoff Andrew, Margolis

The firm鈥檚 growth has been achieved through securing contract wins with high-end commercial clients such as the Bank of China, Moet Chandon and Toyota, says Andrew.

鈥淲e have had to be fleet of foot to continue to win work at decent margins,鈥� he said. 鈥淥ur margins have actually been increasing along with turnover.鈥�

One of the areas Margolis has been targeting is work from Chinese firms looking to set up offices in the UK. As well as winning work for Bank of China, Margolis has also carried out an office fit-out for energy giant, PetroChina, in London.

The firm has set up a Chinese website and a sales desk headed by a Chinese speaker specifically to target this growth market. Andrew is also trying his hand at Mandarin and says he is finding the language 鈥渇ascinating鈥�.

The company is also looking to respond to tighter budgets with 鈥渙ff-the-peg鈥� standardised fit-out packages that set out a series of lower-cost standard designs.

鈥淲e negotiated with our subcontractors to get the same products for less money and then we packaged them up.

鈥淲e鈥檝e had good feedback from clients as it offers them cost certainty,鈥� he says.

So far an office service provider has taken up the offer, which was launched earlier this year.

Andrew says the firm is always looking at new markets and trends: 鈥淭he market is moving away from opulent aesthetics to more functional design,鈥� he says. 鈥淓ven US law firms are returning to classic designs to assert their brands.鈥�

Andrew cut his teeth in an altogether different environment to the clean-cut world of office fit-out he inhabits today.

Son of a South African father and English mother, he started his career in Africa working on a variety of projects, including a series of car manufacturing plants in Botswana.

He came to the UK 10 years ago and says Margolis benefited from the recession by mopping up talented out-of-work fit-out specialists.

鈥淭he recession meant we had access to staff we might not otherwise have had and we鈥檝e kept a very good team.鈥�

鈥淭he design quality is something we鈥檝e really focused on,鈥� he continues. 鈥淭he talent that goes behind the design is the most important thing.鈥�

A belief that is obviously felt within the firm; Margolis鈥� headcount has jumped a quarter in the last two years, up from 30 to 40 staff.

Andrew also says a profit sharing scheme for everyone at the firm helps incentivise staff.