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This month Tropus is confidently expecting to receive planning permission for its lastest scheme. The 拢250m Yes! project will be the first extreme sports leisure facility in Europe. 鈥淚t鈥檚 such an achievement and landmark for us; it鈥檚 one of a kind,鈥� says Graham Farrer.

However, the future for the multidisciplinary consultant was not always so rosy. After an unsuccessful merger with McBains Cooper, directors Farrer and David Hudson wanted to take the consultant in a different direction, and incorporate PFI into its portfolio.

Farrer and Hudson eventually got their separate company, but only after a messy demerger in 1996 that meant the two spent the first year of Tropus鈥� life in and out of a courtroom.

鈥淚t was the most stressful experience of my life,鈥� says Hudson. Farrer adds: 鈥淚f we鈥檇 lost, the business would鈥檝e collapsed. We didn鈥檛 have the rights to anything.鈥�

Three working days before the hearing, the partners were told that they needed 拢120,000 of cleared funds in their bank accounts by the time the case went to court as a deposit for the lawyers.

鈥淲e didn鈥檛 have that sort of money and so we spent the weekend trying to scrape it together,鈥� says Farrer. 鈥淲e put 拢20,000 across as many credit cards as possible, borrowed money from friends and family, went into overdrafts and whatever else we could.鈥�

To their great relief Tropus won the case and, 10 years on, things look much better. When it was set up in 1995, it had 拢155,000 of share capital and 拢250,000 in equity. It now has a net asset value of 拢20m and there are no plans to stop there.

The 拢250m Yes! leisure project in South Yorkshire

鈥淲e鈥檝e reached this level in a relatively short time and we鈥檝e been growing on average by about 拢2m a year since setting up,鈥� says Hudson.

If we had lost, the whole business would have collapsed. We didn鈥檛 have the rights to anything at all

Graham Farrer

鈥淭he target is to reach 拢100m within the next four years. I think the first 拢20m has been the toughest. It becomes a lot easier after that as the more money you have, the more you can make. There is a multiplying effect.鈥�

Tropus specialises in leisure and retail and covers a range of disciplines, from to architecture. In 1999 it set up Guildhouse to specialise in PFI and PPP.

Hudson is Guildhouse鈥檚 managing director: 鈥淥ne of the main reasons we branched away from McBains was because we could see a chance in PFI and wanted to become involved,鈥� he says. 鈥淚t made sense to separate our work in this area so we could focus on it.鈥�

Guildhouse started out working on small PFIs worth about 拢2m, and built up from there. It is now working on four NHS Lift projects with a combined value of 拢400m, and was shortlisted for five out of the eight schemes in wave four of the Lift programme.

Tropus has also been appointed to design meeting rooms for the five-star Chester Grosvenor and Spa Hotel in London and to project manage the relocation and redevelopment of the 拢180m Barnsley Markets development.

Hudson and Farrer say building up contacts and taking on good jobs have been the keys to their success. But they are quick to add that no matter how desperate for work they have been, they have never worked on projects they have not had faith in.

In 2001 they walked away from their role as on Wembley 鈥� a decision that cost them 拢3m. The pair admit that leaving a project as big as Wembley felt risky at the time, but now they are sure the decision was the right one. 鈥淲e look at how things have turned out there and we thank God we left when we did,鈥� says Farrer.

This decision was later vindicated by a report conducted by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, which found that 鈥渢horough and independent review has confirmed grave deficiencies in relation to the substantive issues that Tropus alone brought to the attention of the WNSL Board鈥�.