Styles & Wood ready to float

Styles & Wood’s (S&W) plan to float on the Stock Exchange has firmed up and the date is likely to be within the next 12 months – early 2007 at the latest.

Already a major player in the fit-out sector, S&W is keen to have access to additional funds that would allow it to make acquisitions, with the strengthening of its support services capability seen as a priority.

The group has four divisions with StoreFit still viewed as being the foundation.

It accounts for the bulk of the group’s turnover as the other three divisions, all relatively new developments, are fee-based: StorePlanning, StoreDate and StoreCare.

Neil Davies, chief executive, said: “Our new services now account for 24% of turnover; that’s up from 21% in 2004 and over the next three years we’d like to grow that figure to 30%.”

Latest financial figures (12 months to 31 December 2005) show turnover ahead at £170m (£150m) with pre-tax profit also stronger at £6.4m (£4.9m).

“It was a strong result,” said Davies. “We’ve developed our width because major clients are demanding a broader range of services – they are not ‘nice to have’ but rather ‘critical to have’.”

In StoreFit, S&W is involved on individual projects down to site manager level. “Beyond that, we have changed our model, moving to procuring the services we need from a supply chain, where there is a strong emphasis on pre-qualification,” said Davies.

“Our Rethinking Supply Chain programme has generated 50 major supplier-partners and they now account for two-thirds of our spend. We do good stuff with them, like quarterly reviews and KPIs.”

S&W’s accounts show the highest paid director received £270,000 plus a £29,000 pension contribution. The other 244 employees shared in a total contribution of £265,000 toward their pensions.

S&W annual results

12 months to 31 December 2005

Turnover £170m ▲ 13%

Pre-tax profit £6.4m ▲ 31%