How an Irish construction supplies business grew sales from €7 million to €100 million

The starting point

When Tommy began working with this family-run construction supplies business in 2010, two second-generation directors were beginning to take over from their founding father. The company had around 20 staff, annual sales of approximately €7 million and traded mainly across Leinster.

The business was marginally profitable and faced a severely depressed construction market. There was no obvious route to growth.

The advisory approach

1. 01

   Strategy

   The engagement began with the Net Profit Planning Programme. Tommy was the main instigator of the decision to establish a UK business and helped source premises in London. The directors were encouraged to think beyond the limits of their existing market.

2. 02

   Structure

   Tommy helped create a leadership team, established a board of management and became Chairperson. He set the agenda and chaired monthly meetings, challenging the team's thinking and ambition, and took part in interviews for key hires.

3. 03

   Sales, margin and funding

   Annual budgets and sales targets were developed alongside a sustained focus on gross profit margin. Tommy negotiated banking terms and invoice-discounting facilities, joined the directors on supplier visits and supported the development of own-brand products.

What changed

Over the long-term engagement, annual sales grew from approximately €7 million to approximately €100 million and staff numbers increased from around 20 to around 120. Gross profit margin moved from the high teens to the high twenties.

The story is not simply one of selling more. The business entered a new market while building the leadership, supplier relationships and funding needed to support a much larger operation.

Why this business was stuck

In 2010 the Irish construction market was in a deep downturn. A distributor that relies on builders and contractors in Leinster has very little room to grow when those customers are not building. The business was marginally profitable, which meant it had little cushion and little appetite for risk.

At the same time, the founder was handing over to two second-generation directors. Succession and a weak market together are a common point where family businesses stall. The new directors needed a direction of their own, not just a continuation of what had worked before.

Choosing where to grow

The most important decision in this story was strategic. Tommy was the main instigator of the move to set up a UK business and helped find premises in London. Rather than waiting for the home market to recover, the directors looked for a bigger market where their offer could compete.

A move like this only works if the business behind it can carry the extra weight. That is why the work on structure and funding mattered as much as the decision itself.

Building the structure to support growth

Tommy helped form a leadership team and set up a board of management, which he chaired. Monthly board meetings gave the directors a regular place to test their thinking, set ambition and hold each other to account. He also sat in on interviews for key hires, so the team grew with the right people.

Annual budgets and sales targets gave the business a plan to measure against. A steady focus on gross profit margin made sure that bigger sales did not come at the cost of thinner returns.

Funding and suppliers

Growth in distribution ties up cash in stock and in customer credit. Tommy negotiated banking terms and invoice-discounting facilities so the business could fund a much larger operation. He also joined the directors on supplier visits and supported the development of own-brand products, which can improve both margin and control over the range.

What Irish owner-managers can take from this

If your home market has a ceiling, the answer may be a different market rather than working harder in the same one. But the move has to be backed by a leadership team, a board that challenges you, a budget, a clear eye on margin and the funding to carry the growth.

Frequently asked questions

How can a business grow when its home market is shrinking?

Look for a bigger market rather than working harder in the same one. This distributor opened a UK business during the Irish construction downturn and grew sales from about €7 million to about €100 million. A new market only works when the leadership team, budgets, margin control and funding behind it can carry the extra weight.

What does a board of management do in an owner-managed business?

It gives the owner a regular, structured place to test decisions. Tommy set up and chaired a monthly board for this client, which set ambition, reviewed budgets and held the directors to account — something most owner-managers never have.

How do distribution businesses fund rapid sales growth?

Growth in distribution ties up cash in stock and customer credit. This business secured banking terms and invoice-discounting facilities so a much larger operation could be funded without starving day-to-day cash flow.

What is gross profit margin and why does it matter more than sales?

Gross profit margin is what is left from each euro of sales after direct costs. A business can multiply sales and still go backwards if margin falls. Here, margin moved from the high teens to the high twenties while sales grew fourteen-fold, so the growth made the business meaningfully more profitable, not just bigger.

How do family businesses manage succession while still growing?

The founder handed over to two second-generation directors while the business scaled. Succession works best when the incoming generation has a direction of their own — a new market, a board to challenge them and a budget to measure against — rather than simply continuing what worked before.